Thank you, Madam Chair.
I would like to reiterate Mr. Kramp's comments about the crown corporations and how pleased we are to see that the number of significant deficiencies has decreased, given the importance of crown corporations to the country.
On the question of the Public Health Agency of Canada, we note in the report that the agency does have systems in place, and the provinces are providing the information on a voluntary basis. It's obvious that the agency can't do its work alone. It needs the provinces, because all the health information is in the provinces. But with the exception of Ontario, there are no formal agreements. This is something we've been calling for since 1999. We did an audit in 1999 and another one in 2002 on this area, not necessarily on the agency, of course, because it was only created in 2004.
We really believe it's important that the health agency has a clear understanding with the provinces and the territories as to the kind of data that should be given to them; how it should be prepared; what standards they use to prepare this data; how quickly they should notify the health agency; who they notify; and, in the case of an outbreak, what the roles and responsibilities are. It is happening, and I think the agency will tell you it is happening informally. But we really believe that the best way to be prepared is to have more formal agreements and a clear understanding, so that if a major outbreak did occur you're not trying to sort out these issues in a time of emergency.