Well, I think it is valuable, Mr. Chair, to actually square the circle, because I would not want to leave this debate with an understanding or a conclusion reached that the Auditor General is out of reach for this committee. I think that would be very inappropriate and not consistent with past practice. I'll just read quickly from his letter to us:
Dear Mr. Dusseault: My Fall 2013 Report contains references to government programs that fall within your Committee's purview.
It's the view of the Auditor General, which I think is an opinion we can all respect, that the issue of access to online services is very much within the mandate of the government operations committee. He concludes in his final paragraph by saying, “My staff and I would be pleased to meet with your Committee...”.
This is pretty important stuff. The Auditor General notes that in the course of their audit they “focused on four large departments that each year provide...$125 billion in programs and services” to Canadians.
Mr. Chair, would the clerk or our research advisers be able to provide some indication as to whether or not the Auditor General meets with other committees or appears as a witness before other committees besides the public accounts committee?