We are in agreement that this is not normal in a country like Canada. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent and we have no access to contracts or information. Even the Parliamentary Budget Officer does not have access to that information. It's quite surprising.
You have completed the analysis of appropriations in supplementary estimates (B). The committee is being asked to vote on these estimates which total $79.2 billion. Of this amount, $72.4 billion is for measures related to COVID-19. However, the details of these amounts are not available. How can anyone think that we are going to accept $72 billion in appropriations through a simple vote when we cannot know the details?
Of course, I'm not asking you to answer that question; it's a very political question. Let's just say that I wanted to make my point: I, for one, have a lot of difficulty voting for these estimates.
Before my time runs out, I'd like to ask you another question.
A report from the C.D. Howe Institute notes that at the rate the Liberal government is announcing spending, there will be a problem with some ongoing programs.
According to the Speech from the Throne, apart from the measures related to COVID-19, the various permanent programs that have been promised will require annual expenditures of between $19 billion and $44 billion on an ongoing basis. Right now we are not even in a position to fund that. Even if we were to raise the GST by two percentage points, which would allow us to claw back perhaps $15 billion, we would still be a long way off the mark.
What do you think of these figures put forward in the C.D. Howe Institute report?