Mr. Speaker, I think this is a slight exaggeration. We had an experienced and highly respected person, the hon. member for Ottawa-Vanier, chair the public accounts committee for years. He worked tirelessly, given the powers he had. The same powers that the committee now has. And what results did we see?
For years, Liberals on the public accounts committee wanted to know everything and to have the same powers as others. And what did they do with the powers they had? They were unable to get the information they wanted or to force ministers or senior officials to testify. Mr. Speaker, the public accounts committee has a great deal less power than the Auditor General and you misled the public by saying otherwise-