Mr. Chair, that's a very good question, and that's the sort of question that sometimes is difficult to answer in an audit. When you compare what we found in 2013 and what we found again in this audit, it's obvious that the department had the best of intentions when it responded to our recommendations in 2013, but there wasn't the follow-through that we would have expected to address the deficiencies that we identified in the first audit.
It goes to a point that we raised in the audit report about reacting to emergencies as opposed to preventing emergencies, and it requires a change in mindset. The department is in a situation of always responding, as opposed to getting out in front of things. As the Auditor General has said, if there could be more detailed work done in individual communities to identify what their risks and weaknesses are and the department could then fund those so they could be better prepared to deal with emergencies when they arise, first nations would be in a much better place.
It goes to an issue that we see in a lot of our indigenous audits. There needs to be sustained leadership on the part of departments to keep working to see these issues through, so that the deficiencies that are identified are rectified. It's not easy, but unless and until that's done, unfortunately subsequent audits are going to cover some of the same issues.