Removing paragraph (b) completely is a good option, given that the provinces must remain independent.
I would also like to make a small clarification. Of course, the review of contracts falls within the mandate of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. Contracts are related to procurement, for example. That said, the other committees do indeed review contracts. For example, the Medicago contracts were brought to the attention of the Standing Committee on Health. When other committees don't feel up to studying a contract, they usually count on us to study it and identify the key points. For example, the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology and the Standing Committee on Health also study contracts.
To sum up, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates isn't solely responsible for reviewing contracts. I wanted to make that clear. There are about 400,000 contracts a year, and we're also human beings.