I appreciate that. I appreciate that you understand how Canadians feel—how jarring it is, not just the inconvenience but also how worrisome it is that their information.... So thank you for answering that.
I want to go back to an issue we've talked about before. I know it's something the chair is apparently interested in, as I think he made comments on this the last time I raised it. I'm referring to the Auditor General's report of last month. What I'm looking for, or what my question will culminate in, is where in the estimates are the actions you've committed to take? The issue is international auditors' expertise in the Toronto offices, and I read from the Auditor General's report:
In our 2002 audit
—so not in this audit, but five years ago—
we expressed concern about the lack of adequately trained and experienced international auditors to undertake the complex audits of the international transactions of the largest corporations that involve transfer pricing and foreign affiliate issues. Our specific concern was that the audit approach and coverage across the country might be inconsistent, because of the relative inexperience of the international auditors in the four TSOs in the greater Toronto area (GTA). At that time, over one third of the international auditors in two of the GTA offices had less than one year of experience.
In 2002, we also pointed out that 40 percent of the large corporations that file foreign information returns reside in the GTA. We believed this indicated that significant international tax risk existed in these TSOs....
This means the Auditor General is concerned that money that ought to be coming into Canada from these large foreign corporations is not going to find its way here. This is big money.
This concern came out in the 2002 audit; it came out in this audit too.
I've had assurances from you in previous questioning. I'd like you to show me in the estimates where is the commitment to do something about this.