Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My time is limited, but I will ask you a question. In my first intervention, I saw the dismay on the faces of the participants about the numbers that were provided. I just heard Mr. Casey say the same thing, that he also seems to want the true figures.
I don't know the procedure, but I'd like us to ask the minister to clarify the figures he provided to the committee. Perhaps a mistake was made. In any case, there is an astronomical discrepancy, which is unacceptable. It would be nice if he could clarify the figures, perhaps give us the data according to the years. The figures he has given us may be accurate, but when I look at the averages and the median, I have my doubts. As I said, I didn't provide those figures.
I think you are aware of the problem. Since you were the chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, you would be very skilful in writing a letter, if the committee agrees, asking the minister and all his resources to clarify this for us.
We are swimming in the dark. Three weeks ago, everything was clear to me, I was happy, and now I feel like breaking down doors. Do we need more money? Maybe we don't need any more if these numbers are correct. Three weeks ago, I asked that these hires be made permanent, that we hire these people full‑time. We were told that it may not be necessary.
If we had clear numbers, we could base our future actions on reliable data and better support our committee's conclusion when we write our report.
That concludes my remarks. I don't know if it's possible for us to send this letter.
What do you think, Mr. Chair?