The idea was to get witnesses to come here so we could ask them questions and get answers to try to find a pathway to a solution. Instead of doing that, we're debating this motion.
The Conservatives brought in the rules in 2010, and today they're kicking and screaming because the rules that they brought in don't work for them today. You can't make this stuff up. They're yelling and screaming at public servants because of the rules they brought in.
I don't like the rules, and it's interesting because Mr. Barrett talked about the history of government after government with these bad policies, and I agree. That's why the NDP wants their turn in government. We're working on that. As I'm getting heckled by the Conservatives, I will say this. There is some difference, but not a big difference, between Conservatives and Liberals. We just saw them work together on whistle-blowing to defeat a bunch of motions by the Bloc and the NDP to make sure that whistle-blowers have a better structure in terms of support and protection. We saw them gang up on that.
I will say this. Yes, I supported this motion, but I am embarrassed about the cost this has taken on the public servants, the delay in other work that they could be doing, the $8 million just for translation from PSPC, the $172,000 taken from pensioners when two paragraphs were missing out of 800-plus pages. This is not okay.
We're doing nine studies. We haven't completed one, not one. I'm embarrassed; I had a part in this. We had a part in this, but I would never, ever, go down this rabbit hole again. I'll tell you that right now.
We should be studying accountable government. If the Conservatives are so upset about the rules that they brought in, then let's look at them, but let's do it right. We can't do anything right here. We can't even do McKinsey and say here's a dissenting report, or here's a report that can include this concern as part of our main report. Even on the Governor General, motions start dropping in here ahead of the report. On McKinsey, more motions start, like, let's ban McKinsey.
Let's include it in the report. Let's actually do a report, something we can bring to the House, recommendations we could make to the government and then hold them to account. We can't do that, because no one wants to do it. Why even do studies if we're just going to play games here? This is out of control.
This idea around McKinsey and the toxic drug crisis, and even an attempt to shame me—