Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Mr. Baird, I want to thank you and your colleagues for joining us. Some of us have already had an opportunity to get together over the past few weeks to discuss the Auditor General's report, specifically chapters 1, 4 and 7.
I'd like to start with chapter 7 in which mention is made of an audit by the Auditor General of the practice of leasing office space. I discovered, as did my constituents and a number of other people, that inevitably with the existing system and mechanisms in place, the government often ended up choosing the less economical, and therefore, the most costly option. We were dumbfounded by this revelation. The reason is tied to the whole question of accrual accounting as opposed to the cash basis of accounting. Our colleague just talked to us about that issue.
Even though you're waiting to discuss this with your colleagues, I'd like to know your opinion on the subject -- you mentioned Bill C-2 -- as a responsible, accountable official. In light of the situation, do you intend to commit to bringing in accrual accounting, barring a revelation of messianic proportions?