I can remember specific conversations like this at this committee, with the former commissioner. The government had made commitments for fiscal reform, to change the way we tax in Canada in order to encourage more environmental initiatives. The previous government had made numerous commitments to that, yet when the finance department was asked for those commitments, they weren't forthcoming. They said we just simply won't do it.
What's strange for me, as a person not familiar with government and auditing practices, is that someone would just refuse an auditor's clear recommendation.
I suppose what I'm getting at is that the line between auditing and looking backwards exclusively under traditional practices, and looking forward and saying your actions don't meet your legally binding commitments—which seems to stray almost into policy--doesn't seem as clearly defined as one would hope it would be in an ideal world. There are moments when you say to government, as the auditor, “Your future actions and your policies are not matching your commitments, and you must change course or change your commitments”.