That is not how democracy works, and that is not how it will function here.
I go back to my point. The government is supposed to balance the budget within the next 41 days. It has so far refused to tell us whether it will do that. This week the government will present its fall economic update, and that update is supposed to indicate when the budget is balanced. We asked in the House of Commons 11 times yesterday when the budget will be balanced, and the minister refused to answer, given multiple chances.
We think that therefore it is necessary for the minister to come before the committee in order to answer that question. I know that he does not enjoy coming before committee because we ask direct, difficult questions, but it is not the obligation of opposition MPs to make life easy for the government. Our job is to hold him accountable for the promises that he and the Prime Minister made. As a result, we would like the committee to keep with the normal practice, which is to invite ministers to come and answer questions before the committee after they introduce major financial measures, which a fall economic update typically constitutes.
Thank you very much.