Thank you, Ms. Fraser, for your report. Judging from its tone, you seem somewhat concerned about how departments are managing and assessing their programs. Specifically, of the 23 programs evaluated in chapter one, inadequate data was available in 17 cases.
As you also know, substantial sums of money have been invested in computer systems. Is there a disconnect of some kind between the needs defined in the systems and the way in which programs are designed? Is that possible, or is it that the groups within the departments responsible for designing or developing programs do not communicate with technology management officers in order to define needs and gather the required information?
You also concluded in chapter one that of the departments audited, several expressed some concern about not having the capability needed to evaluate direct program spending, as required by the act. Do all departments share this concern?
You also seem concerned about the fact that departments call on contractors to evaluate direct program spending. Can you explain the government's reasons for taking this approach and give us your assessment of the measures taken by the government to reduce this practice?
These are my questions concerning chapter 1.
I also have some questions about the Canada Revenue Agency. There is currently a significant backlog of necessary technical amendments and the last income tax technical bill was passed in 2001. Can you explain to us the reasons for this delay? What is preventing the department from tabling a technical bill?
You also gave us a specific example involving non-compete agreements. For one thing, the failure on the part of the Canada Revenue Agency to act on tax law changes deprives us of substantial tax revenues, which opens the door to possible abuse. You also note that the Minister of Finance has announced his plans to propose amendments to the Income Tax Act, to address the case of businesses that had signed non-compete agreements. I'm thinking here, among other things, about the case of Mr. Black. This amendment, along with 150 others, was never introduced and at this rate, many files will not be reviewed. Considering the delay in reviewing CRA files, the agency will not be able to recover the lost tax revenues.
Can you give us any other examples? I flagged this particular issue because substantial sums of money are involved, but I was also wondering if technical amendments of this nature would affect some of the dormant business accounts at CRA ?