On the point of getting direct numbers to MPs to troubleshoot constituency issues, I hope this doesn't mean we're going to be distributing the numbers for deputy ministers and heads of Crown corporations. There are some issues there that we have to be respectful of the Privy Council and governmental rules around, but I do support, of course, getting that mechanism in place.
I would also suggest, though, that for some of these things, such as for the CMHC, just as I can't call up the CBC and ask what story they're running tonight, I can't call up the CMHC, even as a parliamentary secretary, and ask, “Where is grant A or grant B?” They're a Crown corporation and there are legal requirements as to how we approach Crown corporations.
I totally respect the concern that has been raised about the critic calls and the way in which parliamentary secretaries respond. I totally understand that and totally support getting good information back and forth as quickly as possible. That's our job as parliamentary secretaries. However, if you could forward some of those calls to the deputy ministers or Crown corporations through the parliamentary secretary, we can then push that through the cabinet process to get you as quick and direct a response as possible. Even as Liberal members of Parliament, we have rules that we have to live by, and we need to respect those rules, especially at times such as this.