Thank you, Chair.
I guess I'll start with some comments. I will get to a question, so just bear with me.
I was looking at section 12 in your report, page 3. I'll quote what it says here:
First, we want to ensure that our audits are adding value for parliamentarians, territorial legislators, Crown corporation boards of directors, and audit committees.
I think everyone of every political stripe would agree that this is important, so we congratulate you on that.
You go on to say that, secondly, you will be “working to make our governance and decision-making practices and processes as efficient and economical as possible.” Again, I think that's all something we can agree with.
You continue:
Third, having completed the updating of our audit methodology last year, we will be looking at opportunities to implement our audit methodology as efficiently and economically as possible. Finally, we have begun talking with our staff about ensuring that we operate in an environment where our employees feel more empowered to do their work.
Again, that's something that I think we would all, as all parliamentarians, agree is great.
The Office of the Auditor General has been getting great results. If you go back to your predecessor with the G-8 spending and then of course your taking over that file, the report and the study into the F-35s, of course the senate audit, and then of course more and more I think we're needing to look at defence procurement in general, there have been great results coming from your office time and time again. It makes us wonder, I think, as parliamentarians, or at least the opposition on this side, what we would be able to accomplish if you were fully funded and fully resourced. If we'd been able to have the G-8 spending looked at, had the results in relation to the F-35, and the senate audit from previous, and now the ongoing senate audit....
I believe the number of staff is being reduced by 69 employees. From 2010, when the number was 629, it will go to 560 by 2016-17. Of the 69 being reduced, how many of those employees will be actual auditors who will no longer be employed by the Office of the Auditor General?