Thank you, Chair.
I just want to react to a couple of things. I think people here, colleagues, know what my preference for this entire exercise would be, but I am an example of a member who has been convinced by arguments to the contrary, and what my colleague is suggesting as an amendment is entirely reasonable to me. And I don't always agree with my colleague.
I don't always agree with Mr. Housefather, but I have enormous respect for his analysis, for his careful and objective reading certainly of legal documents, and also the way that he cares about the outcomes of what he does. That is what brought me to the position that one thing about these contracts is that they don't just belong to the government. They are assigned by other parties. That is what gives the additional level of concern here, and it wouldn't be expected that we as members of Parliament, because that's not our expertise, would know about it.
So on the suggestion of Mr. Housefather to have witnesses from the department, who by the way are public servants, I find it disturbing that a member here would question the integrity of our public service, especially, I'm sorry, Mr. Desjarlais, but someone who belongs to the New Democratic Party. It's not something that I'm accustomed to hearing. It's almost demonizing the work of these public servants—