Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I have some deep concerns, and I think the people of Saskatoon have deep concerns, over the costs associated with this pandemic and some of the ethical lapses that this government has had. That is what the essence of this motion is. It is to study the procedural move of proroguing Parliament.
This is our committee. We're a procedural committee. We should be studying the reasons for it, and that's why Standing Order 32(7) directs us to do that study. We're asking for a prestudy, and I think Canadians would understand that.
I take offence when the Liberals now say that the cost is a consideration. We're over a trillion dollars in debt. What we are asking to study is a half-billion-dollar program that was also tied to why we prorogued. Everyone in Canada understands that we prorogued so the Liberals could hide from their scandals and waste.
Right now, we're going to get the answers. We're going to get the answers either in the coming days in this prestudy or when the actual study takes place. I would encourage the Liberals to stop stalling. In the PROC committee, which studies procedure, the sooner we get on with understanding why we were prorogued and the factors around that procedure, the better off I believe Parliament will be.
We can look at the arguments put forward by the PMO, Madam Chair, and you're going to have to make a decision on whether you're going to stand with Canadians who are wanting to know why we were prorogued in the middle of a pandemic. We didn't do this in two World Wars or in past pandemics. We have never spent as much money as we have in the last six months, and we need to get to the answers on the ethical lapses of this government.
I would hope, Madam Chair, that you would find this prestudy in order for the reasons put forward by my colleague, and for the decency of finding out why the procedure was implemented, what the benefit was and what the cost was of Parliament not meeting. We've seen in the past how we opposition parties have worked with government to improve some of the programs they were offering. Without Parliament sitting, we are seeing more and more government programs that don't actually meet the needs of Canadians. This is a shame, Madam Chair, and I would hope that you would view this as a motion that is in order.