It's about agriculture. I'm going to ask these questions based on two things: one is the subject matter and the other is my own experience. The subject matter, of course, is food and a growing concern, particularly by parents, about the security of our food network.
In your news release the day you tabled you said:
“The Department’s research is important to Canada’s food production and its ability to compete internationally,”.... “We found serious problems in areas that are fundamental to conducting research, such as managing funding, capital assets, and human resources.”
My question stems from comments in your overview chapter, and I'm looking at page 5. From this I'm seeing that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada introduced a science and innovation strategy in May 2006. They didn't even start the draft of the strategic action plan, which is what gives effect to these great ideas, until October 2008. Then--again if I'm following this correctly--at the end of your audit in September 2009 they still hadn't determined the human resources, equipment and facilities, and financial resources needed to carry out the action plan. Well, there's not much left after you do human resources, equipment and facilities, and financial resources. There is not much more to bring to the table to give effect to an implementation plan. So, again, the chronology is that they brought in the strategy in May 2006, they did't even start on a draft implementation plan until October 2008, and by September 2009 they still hadn't identified the key cost factors.
I've been around long enough to know this is very, very worrisome in terms of what it suggests about the long-range planning. Maybe day to day they're doing all right, but is somebody really sitting down and saying, “Where are we in two months, six months, five years?” That's what the plan was for. Did you get any reasonable explanation as to why they waited over two years to begin even drafting the implementation plan, and well over a year after that they don't seem to be too far down the road? What kinds of responses did you get, and how concerned about this are you, Madam Auditor?