Statements in Debates
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. I didn’t mean you any disrespect in any way shape or form with my comments. Madam Chairperson, there is a part of me that wants to keep digging here, but I think I won’t do that. I will stop my questioning there because as I sit here I am getting angry. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Mr. Roland, did you care to make some comments?
Thank you, Mr. Menicoche. Ms. Lee.
Thank you, Madam Chairperson. As a new Member, I will start to understand some of the shortcomings I think that our process has, Madam Chairperson, and the fact that information can be supplied at a meeting, and I can come into a public setting and want to discuss that information that was provided to us and I can’t do that. I think that there certainly is a shortcoming in that, Madam Chairperson, that I take a great exception to.
---Interjection
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. Other general comments. Ms. Lee.
Thank you for your comments, Mr. Hawkins. Mr. Roland.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I will start out my general comments and I might have a question or two in here. I'm going to start off with stating the obvious, and that is I'm a new Member, as everybody knows, and I almost feel like I've inherited something that really I haven't had my fingertips on. I haven't had the benefit of going through a full budget cycle, I haven't had the opportunity to go through a business planning cycle, and I must say that I do not agree with the increase to 14 percent on the corporate income tax. I agree with the three of the four presenters at the committee...
Thank you. I would ask the Sergeant-at-Arms to please escort the witnesses in.
Thank you. Mr. Minister, for the record, please would you introduce your witnesses.
Thank you, Ms. Lee. Mr. Braden.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The next question I would have is if a couple of these positions, and they're senior positions, Mr. Speaker, have been vacant -- one for over three years, the other coming up on two years -- will the Minister consider rolling these positions up? If the Audit Bureau has gotten by without these positions for this amount of time, does that cause the Minister some concern? I know he spoke of the last government, but this is this government. Today is today. Will the Minister undertake to have a review of this division and see if we can roll up some of these positions...