Mr. Ralston, the proof that there should be a departmental audit is still there. Right now, we are saying that the departments can spend however they please, but no one can check to see whether it was done correctly.
Now I want to move on to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada program. Ninety-one per cent of the money in the Agriculture Flexibility Fund has not been used. I can understand why 91% of the funds haven’t been used. I will give you a simple example, and you tell me if it constitutes good management.
Someone in my riding who keeps cattle spent thousands of dollars to submit an application to the federal government, to the Government of Canada, as part of that program. He has 225 animals. I don’t know how much it cost to assess the file, but at the end of the day, he received a cheque for $55.04. In other words, he received 26¢ per head from the Government of Canada. So we can easily understand why 91% of the funds have not been spent.
Could you explain to me how it is that very little money has been distributed to the people who need it? There are hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that are sitting in the coffers. Meanwhile, we are mocking people and giving them 26¢ per head of cattle to help them get through the crisis. We are talking about a crisis. Twenty-six cents a head; that’s going to be real helpful in an economic crisis!