Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The purpose of my outlining the key findings of the Auditor General speaks to the need for the public accounts committee to address the very important findings of the Auditor General. If they don't want to discuss these issues, then, indeed, we can go to a carbon tax election. I think we're coming to that, Mr. Chair. Canadians, per my previous points, do not have trust in the government to manage public finances in an efficient way. That is why one of the core tenets of the Conservative Party right now is to fix the budget. Underpinning our commitment and our desire to have a carbon tax election is fixing the federal budget.
What I'm experiencing here today, as a non-regular member of the public accounts committee, is that what we're doing is in the best interests of Canadians, because the Liberal and NDP members and their coalition want to avoid accountability. They are obfuscating the parliamentary process to review and approve taxpayer money to the point that the average Canadian would say that our governmental system is corrupt.
If we can't examine, in detail, how $3.5 billion was given to ineligible businesses, what can we do as a country? We are a G7 nation, but we don't act like one, primarily because we can't get to the bottom of how public money is used. There are so many layers of decision-making that are not being exposed to the public, even though, at this time, as we reflect on hope during the second week of Advent, many Canadians are without hope.
Food bank usage is through the roof. Violence against women is through the roof. Extortion is through the roof. Child poverty is rising at alarming rates. Why? It's because we're not properly accounting for how money is being used.
Our men and women in uniform serving in the Baltic states right now are having to resort to buying their own equipment, because the government can't get its accounts in order. The Government of Canada is not operationalizing its responsibilities in a way that is acceptable to the average Canadian citizen.
I will continue. EDC, the Department of Finance and GAC—