I will be brief Mr. Chairman. Perhaps it would be useful to describe the internal process of a department such as Environment Canada. There is an evaluation committee that I chair. Each year, within our planning process, an evaluation group drafts the plan for the coming year. This plan identifies the programs that will be evaluated. The budget is part of that action plan. The committee must decide whether to accept or reject the plan proposed by the group and make any changes. It must also decide whether the budget will be approved or not. Within a broader context, that budget for evaluation functions is one of several requests, several financial pressures. We have to make choices. We can modify the plan in order to adapt to the financial circumstances, but we do have that goal, that requirement, obligation, to cover 100% of our programs by the end of the period.
As Mr. Christopherson pointed out, it's a question of balance. One must make choices and changes for each evaluation.