I'm profoundly disappointed, Mr. Chair. This is not what the function of this committee should be. I find it entirely inappropriate.
Mr. Nicholls has just raised this very concern about the whole issue of the economy. I think this is a picture portrait of why things are declining for so many Canadian families: half a million manufacturing jobs lost; 350,000 more Canadians who are unemployed; and real-term, real family income declining. What we have is a government that—rather than attacking those issues and rather than putting in place economic and energy policies that can lead us through the next decade—is focusing on the lowest possible form of parliamentary attack and witch-hunting and is using committees for that purpose. It is, to my mind, absolutely inappropriate and irresponsible.
The reality is that Mr. McKay has mentioned some of the past comments of Prime Minister Harper that have been equally inappropriate. We have two Liberal MPs who apologized for their comments. One of them, Mr. McGuinty, I know well; I don't understand why he made the comments, but he apologized for them,yet we are taking up viable committee time with four witnesses waiting before us who could give us some guidance into the future of energy policy, and we have these four witnesses waiting because the government is insisting on ramming this through. They are not cooperating with the opposition on a study, but rather are engaging in the cheapest and lowest form of witch-hunt politics.
It's absolutely inappropriate, Mr. Chair. I am profoundly disappointed in the members of this committee, but I am going to attempt to address the issue of this report just the same, and I'll offer a final amendment.
I will read it.
After the words “Canadians are informed of these economic benefits”, we should add something on environmental impacts and the subsidies that are already being allocated to the industry. So I would like to add the following: “as well as of the environmental impacts and the cost of the subsidies”.
That's the amendment I am proposing.