Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ms. Ryan, congratulations on your appointment.
Mr. Jacques, thank you for your continued service.
Ms. Ryan, just so we are clear, your job is to work for Parliament and for Canadians, not the Prime Minister's Office or the government of the day.
A lot of Canadians are frustrated right now. They see committees getting stacked, filibusters shutting down debate and this government's refusal to provide answers. Having said that, on March 23 at the finance committee, you used the phrase “spend less to invest more” several times. That's not just any phrase: That's a government talking point. Your job, as the PBO, is not to repeat government slogans or validate their talking points. Your job is to test whether the numbers behind those slogans actually make sense. How are you going to make sure Canadians see you as fully independent, credible and someone with integrity, and not someone who simply repeats government talking points?