Mr. Speaker, could the government explain how in an alleged period of austerity since 2006 the government has spent more than $482 million, almost half a billion dollars, on outside lawyers? There have been lots of cuts to public servants, cuts to social programs, cuts to EI, cuts to veterans, cuts to railway safety, cuts to health care for retired workers, cuts to infrastructure, but lots of money for legal fees.
How can the government defend such outrageous expenditure while real people suffer?