Okay. Thank you,
This is really the purpose and the intent of the motion. The stimulus package was an extraordinary measure, and the Comptroller General is the only person, as you've mentioned.... Had Natural Resources been on a timely basis.... The Comptroller General can tell us, when he reviews the proposal, what has been drawn down, how much has been drawn down.
I was looking at the supplementary estimates, and they have allocated; the Treasury Board has approved. But the purpose of the stimulus package was to ensure that we stimulated the economy, and if we have stimulated the economy and departments have drawn down the money to do shovel-ready jobs or whatever, that the government claims it needed the money for, that's the reason why we have it.
We are a public accounts committee and our job is to ensure the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of public dollars. I think it behooves the committee, being accountable and being transparent for the taxpayers' dollars, that we agree, because we gave the government that $3 billion in a very short window. That short window was to try to create jobs. In our own ridings, we are facing a lot of issues for people who are losing their jobs, losing their lives, because they cannot seem to manage.
So I would like to ensure that the committee supports this, because all it requires is the Comptroller General giving us his analysis of what has been drawn down.