We wanted it to be within two week”. That's what we initially wanted. We were prepared to provide for within four weeks, but it certainly means that the committee could be at work. This notion that it's nine days is nonsense.
What is sad and irresponsible is that the NDP take their marching orders from Justin Trudeau. Here you have $400 million that improperly went out the door, including $330 million to companies in which Liberal insiders padded their pockets. What are the NDP doing? They're doing the bidding of the Liberals. They're doing the bidding of Justin Trudeau to delay hearings and to delay the ability of this committee to do its work—to hold a lawbreaker, Ms. Verschuren, accountable; to get answers about the 20 additional conflicts that the Auditor General identified and that perhaps the Ethics Commissioner ought to start looking into; and to see that taxpayers get a refund, that taxpayers get their money back.
The current Minister of Industry, who professes to be so concerned about this scandal, did nothing. He did absolutely nothing as his assistant deputy minister sat in on each and every meeting, in which there were 186 conflicts, until it hit the media. Then he said, oh, well, I'm now concerned. Then, in the face of the Auditor General's report, what does he do? He starts releasing funds back to the very same corrupt Liberal insiders. It's a total and complete racket.
It's disappointing that Mr. Masse is going along with the Liberals to delay the work of this committee, which could be meeting as early as next week to, as a starting point, hear from the Auditor General.
Mr. Chair, it's very disappointing.