Absolutely. We are fortunate that the legal structure for the funding of Elections Canada provides a statutory authority to draw from the consolidated revenue, so I can spend what I feel is required and justified to upgrade my IT systems, and I have done that to a significant extent in the last few years.
That is not something that parties have, of course. I can tell you that I understand the costs that are involved there and the challenges that this can represent. I also know that we have a very rich and sensitive database, and it is very similar to that of the parties in terms of its scope on the number of electors. How do they protect that, and how can they take measures?
I don't want to frighten Canadians or members of the committee. I know parties are working with the security partners, and I think that's good news. I just think that, seeing the cost rising for cybersecurity, there is a public interest in considering whether parties have the necessary resources.