Honourable senators, I'm sure by now we've all heard the distressing news about the latest massive layoffs at Bombardier, compounded by the news at the same time of a select number of senior management at the company receiving bonuses of up to 50 per cent.

This is made all the worse by the fact that Bombardier, while a private company, has received close to $1.5 billion dollars in funds between the provincial Government of Quebec and the federal government, all without any apparent conventions attached for how that money is used to ensure against this type of travesty.

Despite using taxpayers' dollars, taxpayers apparently don't deserve to have any guarantee that the money will be spent wisely. As a matter of fact, both the provincial and federal governments think taxpayers have no right to even ask questions.

Quebec Premier Couillard said yesterday:

If the government gives a signal to the world that when you come to Quebec with a company, the government will put its big paws in your business and run your company for you, we won't go far in Quebec.

That would be all well and good if we weren't talking about a company that keeps putting its big paws into the public coffers, looking for and receiving public money. The argument against probing a private company wears thin when you're using public money to stay in operation. We aren't talking about a completely self-sufficient private company, for example, like Bell. We are talking about a company that has received hundreds of millions — billions — of dollars from the Canadian public.

The Trudeau government made this loan to Bombardier under the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative with little to no requirements regarding the use of the funds. They made it under the auspices of protecting and creating middle-class jobs but sought absolutely no mechanisms to guarantee that would be the case. As we now know, the very opposite has occurred.

If we're going to continue making loans or agreements like this, we must be both strategic and responsible about it. We are talking about public money here. Governments not only have to be truly transparent about the terms of these types of deals, but they also have to be responsible and put covenants in place on the use of the funds. Banks, other private lenders or investors are not afraid to put a long list of conditions, representations and warrantees in their deals to protect their interests. Don't taxpayers deserve the same sort of protection?

The previous government certainly thought so. In 2013, Air Canada was looking down the barrel of a gun, facing the very real possibility of being grounded as they struggled to deal with deficits in their pension plan. The Harper government knew it had to act. However, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did not let the urgency of the situation force him to act irresponsibly or flippantly with taxpayers' money. Flaherty attached conditions in the government's deal with the airline, including a freeze on executive compensation tied to the rate of inflation, a ban on special bonuses and limits on executive incentive plans. It was the prudent thing to do then, as it is now, colleagues.

Another troubling aspect of the Trudeau government's loan to Bombardier is the aforementioned lack of transparency around the deal. Do Canadians not deserve to know even the most basic of details about a loan of this magnitude? It should come as no surprise that Bombardier doesn't think so. This is a company that has been to court in the neighbourhood of 10 times in nine years to avoid having to divulge information about the government funding it receives. In light of recent revelations about executive compensation, I can only imagine why.

Bombardier usually cites competitive concerns to suppress information, despite the fact that in many cases, its industry peers allow that same type of information to be released.

Regardless of the government's excuse, the Trudeau Liberals love nothing more than to wrap themselves in the flag of transparency, but time and time again they prove they are anything but open and transparent. We aren't talking about design schematics or anything of the sort here. We are talking about the most basic information you would expect when you make a loan: What the repayment schedule is and whether the loan is interest free. Is it too much to ask? Well, apparently it is, as I found out myself when I was admonished by the government leader for daring to ask questions on behalf of Canadians in regard to their hard-earned dollars.

However, this government's cavalier attitude toward expenditures of public funds and their condescending attitude when asked to account for those expenditures won't and cannot be tolerated. Even if it is too late to do anything about this particular deal with Bombardier, then at least we will make sure that future deals of this kind will come with the utmost transparency and safeguards.

If the Trudeau government won't give Canadians the answers they deserve about the use of their tax dollars, then I believe the Senate must. That's why I move:

That the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications be authorized to examine and report on issues related to the 373 million dollars of federal public money on loan to Bombardier Inc., including but not limited to the overall value for investment on behalf of Canadians; and

That the committee submit its final report to the Senate no later than June 7, 2017 and that the committee retain all powers necessary to publicize its findings until 180 days after the tabling of the final report.