Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for your report and for coming here today, Mr. Page. I would like to congratulate you on your good work, which requires a lot of patience.
You have provided us with a very interesting report, though a bit depressing in terms of the quality of the work that we are able to do as parliamentarians. As depressing as all that might be, it is not surprising, given what we have been seeing since we have been in Parliament. The estimates submitted to the legislator seem to be a fait accompli and we don't feel that we will be able to make any significant changes. As our witness Mr. Jordan told us, the parliamentary approval system for the estimates rarely works.
Let me go back in time a little. In December 1998, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs made a number of recommendations and suggestions. One recommendation was that, when they submit their planning documents every year, departments and organizations inform the committees of all possible directions and of the issues they will be working on, beyond the fiscal year in question. In your opinion, could something be done? Is there something worth implementing?