Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I’ll be brief and try to be as concise as possible.
The subject of the motion is important. It would not be the first time that the committee has looked into surprising expenditures.
We must keep in mind that anything to do with past spending falls under public accounts, while anything to do with future spending and budget forecasts falls under our committee. Anything to do with public services falls under our mandate. This applies, for example, to awarding contracts and the procurement process.
The amendment I’m very kindly suggesting is intended to clarify something. I’ll read the beginning of the motion again:
Given the environment department has failed its Audit of the Administration of Grants and Contributions for poor oversight of millions of taxpayer dollars spent on green subsidies and the “potential legal and reputational damage this represents”, the committee dedicate at least 3 meetings…
After this passage, I would replace “to this matter” with “to the grant and contributions process”.
We could then replace “and call on the following witnesses to appear” with “and call on relevant witnesses to appear, as decided by the committee”. That way, we can be sure that the witnesses we invite will actually be the people we want to hear from.
Those are the two amendments I suggest.