Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I reminisced about being back at this committee. Of course, I also served on the public accounts committee.
I'm going to have a question for you that's fairly straightforward. I'm hoping to get a straightforward answer and perhaps even a commitment out of you here today.
Minister, the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation is dedicated to advancing public sector performance audit, oversight and accountability in Canada and abroad. The foundation's work is internationally renowned and supports elected officials to build capacity, share knowledge and collaborate on issues of mutual interest of government oversight. The impact of their work increases government transparency and accountability and improves government operations, which is an important way to increase public confidence in government. In fact, as a member of the public accounts committee, I had the pleasure of taking their training, and I found it invaluable.
The CAAF has been engaged with your government for more than two years to seek funding that will allow it to continue its work, but has yet to receive a response. Unfortunately, it's my understanding that if the funding commitment isn't received by the end of the month, the CAAF will have to cease domestic programming. Now, you'll know that they also go to our provincial counterparts to provide support there. The modest funding request from the CAAF would go a long way to improving government oversight for years to come. There's wide support on the ongoing work of CAAF and their request for federal funding. This is from the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees, which represents legislative staff from federal, provincial and territorial public accounts committees across Canada. They passed a resolution asking for federal funding.
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts passed a motion recommending that the Government of Canada, specifically the President of the Treasury Board, review the work of the Canada Audit and Accountability Foundation and take steps to provide adequate and stable funding for the capacity-building program as part of the legislative oversight bodies.
This might be one of the most non-partisan questions I've had all session because there is, in fact, wide support from Liberal, Conservative and New Democrat chairs of the public accounts committees, and of course, Bloc members who would be involved in some of the earlier reports as well.
Minister, can you commit today to providing federal funding for the Canadian Audit and Accountability Foundation to ensure that they can continue their important work by supporting legislators and improving government oversight across the country?