Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Minister, I have to tell you that this is the normal process. Government comes before a committee like this, it comes before Parliament, and it gets authority before it goes out and spends money.
You're talking what? Six months? Libya was $150 million. You're talking about $150 million-plus. Why is it that you're expecting us to give you a blank cheque to go out and do...undoubtedly good things, some people would suggest, but why is it that you think it's not your responsibility to be accountable here?
I know that the senior officials in your department can figure out what an estimate is and are able to provide it to members of Parliament. I think it's offensive that you would suggest to us that we don't care about, that Canadians don't care—