There were two surveys, and one of them lasted seven years. Their results were very similar, except for the results being even more negative in the second one. We widened the scope of the second survey in order to get the members of the UCTE to participate as well.
The important thing to note is that when inspectors, who are at the front lines of inspections, tell you that the system is problematic, you should listen to them. For our part, we think that the information that is given should be used to improve the system, instead of being considered as a negative element. People shouldn't say that it's simply a small survey and or that only inspectors are being negative. We are between 500 and 600 inspectors over at Transport Canada. One cannot view as insignificant the fact that everybody there thinks the same way. We must take into account what is being said.
In the past, we could see precisely what was happening in companies, because we were part of it. We went to see what was going on in the companies. We spoke to the pilots and the engineers who were repairing planes, which allowed us to discover problems on our own.
Today, we expect to receive a report submitted by a company employee, after which we have to verify if the problem has been corrected. The fact is that if the report is not entered into the SMS, we will never see it. That is problematic for inspectors. Because they don't see the same information they used to, they cannot ensure the same level of safety as in the past. That is the reason why we speak negatively of this system.