moved for leave to introduce Bill C-476, an act to provide for improved information on the cost of proposed government programs.
Madam Speaker, this bill is a second attempt on a bill that was brought up in the previous parliament which went as far as the committee stage. This bill attempts to empower the House in the sense that it requires all legislation and new programs introduced by the government to be costed. That costing or the anticipation of that cost is then scrutinized by the auditor general. It essentially allows us as legislators to understand the basic costs of new programs.
More important, it allows us as legislators to go back to our constituents and to explain to them how much new types of government programs are costing.
I do not believe there are very many people in the House or in the country who do not demand greater accountability for government. That is what this legislation would do.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)