I started out by saying that I appreciated having the witnesses here, that their positions as senior-ranking officials were bound by terms and that I should ask questions about the results of those terms. There was absolutely nothing inappropriate, harsh or personal in what I said.
Here, we have an opportunity to find out what the policies of the government in power are, and our job is to ask questions to that end. When I ask a question, it is not out of a lack of respect. Otherwise, the official opposition's job would simply be to say, “okay, thank you very much”.