That's good for me to know. We have seen the problems that the Parliamentary Budget Officer is having with the independence of his office. There are subtle ways and overt ways to manipulate or pressure an office that's not truly independent, whether its budgetary or otherwise, so you can understand why we would ask this question, Mr. Minto.
Given my limited time, though, I'll move on. One of the comments you made in your report to us today, on page 4, was, “Nothing bothers me more than hearing that a supplier has given up on dealing with the government because of the perceived inefficiencies and perceived lack of fairness in the system”.
But let me tell you, Mr. Minto, we have heard suppliers as recently as a month ago say that very thing to us: that they've simply thrown their hands up in the air and have given up. They're fed up because they think it's a stacked deck. It's like some ring toss on a carnival midway; it's rigged against them.
That frustrates me no end, too, because a lot of people in this town.... I'm more frustrated on behalf of the smaller operators who may come to you when that contract for $40,000 or $50,000 represents all they've managed to earn this year. Ottawa's full of people like that. Of the 350 or so people that have come to your office since you've been open, how many are telling you this? Is this something you have heard? Have you heard that people are ready to give up on bidding on government work?