Mr. Speaker, as I listen to the back and forth today, it feels like I caught my daughter with her hands in the cookie jar and I am hearing her trying to make excuses for emptying it. It feels like that is what the government is doing right now. They are trying to clear their conscience while those who were in the former government are still here.
I will pick up on the question that my Conservative colleague asked about a disturbing trend. I replaced one of my colleagues on the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates a year or two ago. At the committee, I asked questions about the government's increasing use of outside consultants, because the media had published a figure about it. Using outside consultants costs more and is subject to fewer rules, less oversight and less accountability.
When I asked my question, the government responded that the reason was a lack of expertise in the public service. I would like my colleague to explain this lack of vision to me. Why were outside consultants being used with the excuse given that there was a lack of expertise—