I operate on the principle that the federal government—if not the minister, at least the deputy ministers, in short people that you know in this environment—is aware of the risk and of the challenges it will be facing around 2012. Madam Chair, I find it quite peculiar that these people told us, when they appeared before the committee, that there weren't any problems and that everything was under control. I would like to bring back Ms. Barrados and Ms. Jauvin for the simple reason that it was about strategic planning.
I asked Ms. Jauvin whether she had started planning since taking up her duties six months earlier. I don't remember whether she answered yes or no. She didn't seem to know what I was talking about. Whatever the case may be, I think it's important that you're here. I think the situation in the federal public service somewhat reflects our society. People are having increasing difficulty finding employees who have the necessary skills and, what is more, want to work, put some heart into their work. That's part of the problem.
The second problem is that governments, one after the other, have applied cuts in order to get labour at the lowest possible cost in the public service. We won't hide it: four or five years ago, people at Statistics Canada worked awful hours and were very poorly paid, and, if they left their jobs, they were unable to find other positions elsewhere. They were struck off the list everywhere by the federal government, which gave no indication that those people had been in its service.
As for the third problem, don't you think that a mentoring program would be ideal in the case of our federal public service? Couldn't employees with experience, who know how to work and respond to the public support these youths and show them how to do things, particularly since people in society today have fewer and fewer values?
Lastly, the unions criticized the working climate in the federal public service a few years ago. Next week, we're going to hear from a person who is responsible for protecting the whistle blowers. There is a poor working climate in the federal public service, and we are all responsible for that, including the ministers.
We could probably have the best employees in the world. Highly qualified people would be ready to stay on the job until the age of 75, but can no longer bear this federal public service. What do you think of this situation?