Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to all of you for being here with us today, and apologies for the fact that our time has been a bit shortened because of votes.
I'm going to direct my questions primarily to you, Mr. Watson, although I may get to some of the others. I'm going to focus on the question of assessing the sustainability of the plans. I'm going to start by referring you, Mr. Watson, to a statement on page 27 of the Auditor General's report in paragraph 1.83, which says, “First, the plan sponsor does not address the sustainability of the plans.” I will also refer you to the recommendation at paragraph 1.46, which says:
To support the plan sponsor—represented by the President of the Treasury Board—the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, with the collaboration of the RCMP and National Defence, should assess periodically the pension plans’ sustainability. If deemed appropriate, the entities should recommend changes to plan designs so that they are up to date, affordable, and fair to current and future generations.
So when I see the Auditor General saying, “First, the plan sponsor does not address the sustainability of the plans”, I then look to your evidence today, which says that you have recently reviewed the plans and taken steps to help ensure their long-term sustainability. You mentioned a few things about ratios and retirement age, and I wonder if your steps to do that were taken in response to the Auditor General's recommendation or they were taken before the Auditor General's recommendation.