Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I should thank Mr. Blaikie. You're ability to speak non-stop for one hour is really admirable. That is a skill few people possess, not me.
There were too many conflicting ideas that appeared in that one hour. Perhaps we can keep the record straight. In 2017, the House of Commons approved a provisional change to the Standing Orders. There was a pilot project to match the estimates process with the budget process, because in the previous years we as parliamentarians had been approving estimates that made no sense. I think in that process as you transition from one system to another there has to be some contingency.
As you know, and as I know as an accountant, we keep contingencies because there has to be buffer. In that buffer, vote 40 appeared. It's only dealing with 10% of the total budget. I think what is important is that the reconciliation between the budget and the estimates allows the flexibility for this voting.
It has brought about more transparency. We know what we are voting on. There's monthly online reporting. For the first time there's a monthly online reporting that talks about how these funds are being spent. There is the estimates process that we know has balanced itself out.
I think what we also need to understand is that the budget implementation vote, the $7 billion, will be used exclusively for measures approved in the 2018 federal budget. If they are not used, they will collapse. The AG has made that very clear. The PBO probably has a different understanding but I think I would go with the AG over the PBO.
Your motion says that the ministers should be called, but the ministers can appear before any committee. We've already had Minister Brison and Minister Qualtrough for the mains. The following ministers have appeared or are scheduled to appear at other committees: the Speaker at procedure and House affairs; Minister Bains and Minister Duncan at industry; Minister Morneau and Minister Lebouthillier at finance; Minister Goodale at security; Minister Duclos, Minister Duncan, and Minister Hajdu at human resources; Minister Monsef at the status of women; Minister MacAulay at agriculture; and Minister Freeland.
They're always available. I think, therefore, I call this motion, in my opinion and in our opinion, unnecessary. We call the vote.