Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I rise again today to continue the topic of accountable and responsive government. Mr. Speaker, the other day, I talked about the vacancies in the Audit Bureau and their struggle to do their jobs and provide the resources of a fully-staffed bureau.

Mr. Speaker, I can't understand why it's so difficult to retain staff in an area such as the Audit Bureau but, you know, I've gotten much feedback from professionals. Mr. Speaker, independence seems to be the key to them being truly effective. They need to have an unfettered hand to do their jobs; unfettered by the government.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister read into the record about true reporting mechanisms. The Audit Bureau reports deep down into the bowels of government and it is embedded there. So everything they deal and talk with happens deep down in the FMBS side of government.

Mr. Speaker, we need the Audit Bureau to be independent so they can be productive. Mr. Speaker, the calls from the professionals out there in this field said that this section needs the unfettered opportunity to do what it needs to do. We are chronically short-staffed, Mr. Speaker, and this may be the solution to that problem. An independent Audit Bureau could be an early-warning system to the government so we could avoid boondoggles like other places have experienced in the South.

Mr. Speaker, it's not just about money lost; it's about money that we'd spend to investigate this problem. It's about money that we'd then spend to try to fix the problem, Mr. Speaker. Other provinces in Canada, Mr. Speaker, have audit bureaus that report directly to their Legislative Assembly, such as British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Their direct reports go to the assemblies then get forwarded on to the responsible standing committees. I think that needs to be seriously considered.

Mr. Speaker, I, on this side of the House, can defend a Minister and support a Minister who has a problem that's being recognized and addressed. But, Mr. Speaker, I have to work in the other direction when they try to hide or ignore the problem or blemish. Mr. Speaker, we need support from that side of the House to say wait a minute, we're going to address this problem, we're going to give independence to this area, and we're going to fix it. So, Mr. Speaker, later today, I will have questions for the appropriate Minister. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.