Thank you very much.
I think as the Auditor General mentioned, we've noted in the report that while Environment Canada does undertake, as the deputy mentioned, ongoing monitoring, it has limited monitoring capacity north of 60. We've already discussed INAC's cumulative environmental impact program. Their own 2005 evaluation said they were not delivering what they were required to do under the act.
There's of a broader question, which I think the deputy of INAC mentioned. As we've noted in the report, there are gaps in baseline information, and the point of cumulative effects is to understand how different environmental indicators fit together. This is particularly urgent in the context of the north because of the fragility of the ecosystems.
So there are gaps, as the honourable member mentioned. There's been a 63% reduction in the Bathurst caribou herd. But the broader question is what are the drivers of that? For that it is important to undertake a cumulative monitoring system to understand both conditions as well as linkages between the different environmental drivers.
So, yes, we've noted, first, that the cumulative impact system is incomplete and therefore that decision-making is not fully informed, and that there are gaps in critical information.