Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you all very much for being here. I have to say that if I listen to my colleagues across the way, everything is wonderful, you did a great job, and all of that. Well, if that were the case, none of you would be sitting here before the public accounts committee. Clearly there are issues that need to be dealt with.
I want to also reiterate my and all of my colleagues' support for the auto industry. We understand how important that industry is, not just to Ontario but to all of Canada. We were all under huge amounts of pressure at that particular time, opposition and government, to assist in helping to save that industry.
I'm not being critical of the fact that we saved the industry, or at least we think we have. There were reports this morning in The Globe and Mail about the concern of the closing down the Oshawa plants and what that would do. I'm sure that—again, for all of us—we don't want that to happen. When the government commits to a $9-billion bailout, my disappointment here is the fact that, yes, you didn't have sufficient information and this, that, and the rest of it, but we trust you to make sure you have everything in line. All the ducks have to be in order. It's a $9-billion investment that we want to be successful. Clearly the pressure on the department to approve this money and to move forward once Parliament had approved it was probably very difficult, but clearly you were making decisions without sufficient information.
Could you not have held back for more information, even though the commitment was there, the money was there, and allocated it in a slower way while you got the information you needed to be able to back up your decisions? At the end of the day, Parliament's responsible for every cent that goes out, but you are also responsible. Could you not have secured more information through this process than you did?