Mr. Chair, I disagree with Mr. Poilievre on many things, as you well know, but I support this motion for the simple reason that it is our responsibility, as mandated by the House of Commons, to look at all aspects of the COVID-19 relief supports that were put into place. The finance committee was given that job by the House of Commons when we rose on March 13, so we have a responsibility to get to the bottom of this.
I do note something that has come up many times and has also been very present on social media: the incredible amount of liquidity supports to the banks, and the Bank of Canada's role in that. It is very controversial.
We saw, under the former Harper government in 2008, about $116 billion in liquidity supports coming through a variety of mechanisms, including the Bank of Canada, CMHC and other institutions. Current supports are six times as big.
Getting that information is vitally important for Canadians. The issue of transparency is extremely important as well, and it is arising more and more as an issue among the public. Certainly journalists are asking questions that are not being answered.
I think we owe it to Parliament, and to the mandate we were given on March 13 for this pandemic, to get these answers. We certainly owe it to Canadians. This is our responsibility as a finance committee.
I don't see why there would be any controversy around adopting this motion. It is common sense, and it is very much in the logic of what we were given as a mandate by the House of Commons back in March. I am therefore supporting the motion.