Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member on his off the cuff remarks and his opinions on that. Everyone can have an opinion and it would be wrong to deny anyone an opinion.
The member supports the Auditor General's view that the foundations should be audited by the Office of the Auditor General. Other people may hold a different view but the hon. member has a valid view .
I will ask the member another question in a different light because some would suggest that many members on his side of the House think that the foundations should not exist at all. I wonder if that is the view of the member and if he would not recognize the work and complexities that are carried out by the foundations.
Some members have explained that in some cases it is difficult to name the Auditor General as the external auditor because the foundations are not controlled by the federal government. It might be an organization created in partnership with the provincial governments or, in some cases, with the private sector where the federal government is but one of the many partners. Therefore it is difficult to impose our auditor as opposed to other auditors being chosen by all the provinces, territories and the federal government together.
What these foundations have often achieved have been making some great investments in Canada using funds which sometimes are available from the federal government. These foundations can find investment opportunities in Canada in research over years to give stability to the researchers, because they can do what the federal government cannot do. The funds give them the stability over a multi-year approach using those funds and having the security of those funds.
I think the member would agree that it is a valid way to invest in research. If he does not agree with the existence of the foundations, could he please tell the House what his alternative approach might be?