Mr. Speaker, it was the culture of secrecy that allowed corruption to flourish under the Liberal years, but the Conservatives are so obsessed with secrecy, they are even trying to sabotage the selection committee to replace the parliamentary budget officer. They have assigned their chief henchman to the government House leader to ensure they wind up with a lapdog instead of a watchdog.
I argue that Kevin Page was about the best friend the Canadian taxpayers ever had. Canadians have a right to know what their government is doing with their money. Why are the Conservatives so fundamentally afraid of having a truly independent parliamentary budget officer?