Thank you, Chair.
Colleagues, we have the fiduciary responsibility as committee members to examine the government's expenditures. That's not a partisan thing. It's actually a privilege we have as members. In previous testimony, we did question Mastercard on why they needed $50 million from the federal government, when they are literally one of the most profitable companies in the world. Their profits come off, frankly, charging nearly usury rates to the average consumer.
Here we have federal tax dollars going to Mastercard, so there had better have been a good reason for that. As my colleagues have said, under testimony that reason wasn't particularly compelling. That lack of compellingness was something that transcended political boundaries.
Now, pardon me for being a skeptic when my colleague from the Liberal Party says, oh, no, no, it totally created jobs, and everything was on the up and up. There has been so much scandal in this government already. He said it himself in his comments that, wow, we couldn't possibly scrutinize every transaction. That's because there have been so many scandals.
Given that Mastercard.... It's Mastercard. The parliamentary secretary is defending Mastercard, giving $50 million to Mastercard. That's problem number one. If there's nothing to hide, then the amended motion should present no problems for the government.
I just want to underscore something for my colleagues in the Bloc and NDP as well. The government predicated its argument that it needed to give $50 million to Mastercard, one of the biggest and most profitable corporations in the world, on the fact that it was the only way they were going to open up a cybersecurity centre in Canada, but guess what? In May, in Belgium, what did Mastercard do? They opened up the exact same thing...without government handouts. Now, why is that? Why is that? Hmm. I would love to know.
Going back to the beginning of my speech here, colleagues, we have the right and responsibility to ask for documents—these are all government documents—on the rationale as to why the federal government, the federal bureaucracy, thought it was a great idea to give $50 million of tax dollars to one of the most profitable companies in the world. I think that is a great use of time. I really do. I would love to know the thinking behind this.
To the Liberal government, $50 million might not be a lot, but it's a lot to the people in my community. I would like to know why the government gave it to Mastercard.
Thank you.