Thank you.
Ms. Fraser, in your December 2008 audit report, you talked about the appearance of plant health emergencies. One of the tables shows that the golden potato nematode appeared in Quebec in 2006. In 1996, your office reviewed plant protection, just as it did in 2008. At the time, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency accepted your recommendations and agreed that there were things that had to be done.
In 1996, the department was supposed to undertake a thorough review of the economic repercussions of these threats. Between the first and second reports, the golden nematode appeared in Quebec. In your 2006 report, you said that the agency's analyses were focused exclusively on what was happening in the country and less on threats from other countries, an issue you noted in 1996 as well. At the time, you noted that the program's priorities and resource allocation were not based on scientific risk assessment. Both reports state that the information is not reliable enough.
Between 1996 and 2008, even though your recommendations were acknowledged as being important and the government entities recognized the need for action, a new invasive species was found where it had never been before. Until 1987, the agency had a program dedicated to nematode risk assessment.
Do you agree that the agency failed and that it must bear some of the blame for the appearance of the golden nematode?