I do not object to adding “$1 billion” before the words “announced spending cuts”, even if I find it somewhat redundant, since that is what was announced on September 25. However, I do not like the idea of naming people. They could very well suddenly say that they have to be at a meeting, claim that they have an engagement of some kind or a change in their schedule. In any event, we ask that they be senior officials, and I am entirely confident that the Deputy Minister will choose the right people. I don’t think that he will send us the Assistant Deputy Minister of Information Technology, if we are talking about financial resources. I have faith in the probity of senior officials.
Incidentally, I chose November 2—and I have discussed this with my colleague, obviously—because a Bloc Québécois motion was scheduled on that date. I do not want to be told that it was a period reserved for accrual accounting and that I wanted to disrupt the process. I told my colleague that even if his second session were postponed to December, we would work with that situation because this had to be heard first. It is not that I do not want to accept my colleague’s suggestions; it is rather that I see more problems than anything else. I don’t mind if the words “ $1 billion” are added, but I would like the rest of my motion to remain as is.