On the amendment, if Mr. Lake and the Conservatives are so eager to have the information from previous years, they have access to that already. We've seen that the parliamentary secretaries and their ministers have utilized that information in repeated venues across the country, whether they're making announcements in Quebec or in the House of Commons in the chamber. So they have access to that information.
I think if they were interested in having that information previously, they could have put a motion forward. We know that for people on this side, in terms of the opposition, it is really not about politics. This is about non-profit organizations that have been denied funding. It's about students coming into my office when I'm there on a constituency day on Fridays saying that they had access to jobs last year and they don't have the same access and they want to know what is going on. And we're unable to respond.
I find it ironic, because if the deputy minister, under the direction of the minister, I gather, whom she directly works for, sends us a letter saying that there are privacy concerns, and at the same time she sends us a list of expenditures per riding, they must have a complete list of organizations that received funding if they can come up with that final amount. So if Dartmouth—Cole Harbour received $400,000, there must have been a list of organizations that received funding that added up to the $400,000. If someone out in Bourassa in Quebec received $232,000, there must have been a list of programs that received funding to come up with that final amount of $232,000. So when the Conservatives are saying that it's difficult to come up with it on a riding-by-riding basis, we've already been provided the information in terms of total amounts. What we are asking for is a comprehensive list.
I think the prudent thing to do to ensure that it is transparent and to see that there is accountability is to put forward this list. I'm sure there is nothing to hide. It is public knowledge when the list does come out. We as parliamentarians are asking to be able to do our job. We are a link between our constituents and the government, and we have a job to do. I think these types of handcuffs are really putting a restraint on our ability to do our jobs well.