Mr. Speaker, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada paid more than $6.7 million over six years to private auditing companies for information that is already being provided through existing reporting mechanisms.
The Conservatives ignore these basic government reporting mechanisms and force taxpayers to pay twice as much to ensure that aboriginal peoples are accountable. There is one set of rules for the government and another for aboriginal peoples.
Can the minister explain why he hires private auditing firms to duplicate the work that his department is responsible for doing?