Thank you.
That brings me to another question.
Public servants have carried out major projects in recent years, including a project that, in a sense, laid the groundwork for Phoenix. This project to modernize federal public servants' pension services was carried out very successfully, the proof of which was the more than 800,000 former public servants now receiving a pension thanks to this system. This program is managed by a team of public servants in Shediac, mostly, with others working in Ottawa.
In your report, you attributed Phoenix's failure to three individuals. Obviously, senior officials, senior public servants, deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers also participated in developing and carrying out this project. In your report, you say that various meetings took place with approximately thirty deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers from different departments. However, since you're saying that they weren't part of the project's official governance, it would seem that you are absolving them of their responsibility for the problems associated with Phoenix.
Can you explain your point of view?
I'll be honest with you. If I were a deputy minister or an associate deputy minister, and people told me that there were major problems with this type of project, and that there would potentially be consequences for my employees, I would obviously raise my hand and say that there is no way we are moving forward with this project.
Explain to me why you are putting the blame on three individuals instead of on the number of people with important positions who had a role to play in this.