Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's certainly an honour for me to sit here to serve on the finance committee. I have been doing exactly that for the last three years. I'm trying to listen very patiently to everything that's being said.
I have been around for a long time on this committee. I'm second only to you in terms of longevity and tied with Mr. Poilievre. Over the last three years, we've certainly all worked really hard to speak freely and allow people to speak freely, although it has been a little bit challenging sometimes.
Over the last couple of years, our committee has done some very good and important work that we can be proud of, from our review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act to our hearings on multiple budget implementation acts, our meetings earlier this year on our government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the work and the efforts we made to deal with the WE Charity issue. A lot of information was requested and received that I don't think we really did justice to by not getting together and putting all the documents on the table to go through as a committee.
I come from a different style of governance. The Northwest Territories practices a consensus government. The basis of a consensus government is good communication. It includes trust and also includes respect. We also go to great lengths to make sure that people don't attack staff, public servants or other people who are not present to defend themselves. It really is troubling to hear somebody say that the clerk's bonus depends on this Prime Minister. It's almost implying that the clerk would be dishonest and would do it for money. That's a very offensive comment in my view.
Amongst our most significant work is the committee's pre-budget consultation report, which is required by the Standing Orders, and this upcoming study would be my fourth with the committee. I found every one of these studies to be very valuable to my work as a member of Parliament, and I believe it's the same for all members I have served with. It allows us to hear from many witnesses, from coast to coast to coast, and it brings many requests for the government's next budget, and this year is no different. These recommendations would be brought forward to several dozen final recommendations for consideration by the government.
Not only do we hear from groups and advocates that we deal with regularly in our constituencies, but it allows organizations whose members we may not otherwise hear from in our regular day-to-day work to address us.
I'm one of three members who represent the northern territories, and I'm one of 10 indigenous MPs. I always try to make it a priority to have northern and indigenous voices come before our committee during consultations. The Standing Committee on Finance has been able to hear from many of these voices during our in-person Ottawa meetings and our committee tours, which, because of COVID, we will not be able to do.