Mr. Chairman, I believe one of the points that Mr. Hubbard was trying to make in his last round of questioning was that in this report there is a long litany of things that play out to less than effective management.
Right at the end of the report, the Auditor General summarizes--if I'm misrepresenting, please feel free to intervene--with three specific recommendations. One is about information and workloads. One is about financial arrangements, which I questioned already. The last one is very specific: to “ensure that a senior manager with the necessary authority leads the improvement of management practices at the Department and oversees implementation of these changes”.
The response from the department is not as specific as I would like it to be. We are a committee of accountability, not management, and I understand that. But if they're not going to hire someone, or put someone in a position as suggested by the Auditor General, I would like to have more comfort than, shall I say, just a sentence saying that we're going to work on management practices that will be strengthened.
Am I representing that recommendation properly, Madam Fraser?
As well, could I get a direct answer from Mr. Sims on whether they intend to put that senior person in--that is, a professional manager and not, per se, a lawyer?
Just for your reference, the pages are 27 and 28.