Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today.
I am very proud to have been a management consular officer for over a decade at Global Affairs Canada, having served as our consul in both El Salvador as well as Dallas, Texas. I was in El Salvador under Madam Allard-Gomez at Dallas, Texas under Paula Caldwell St-Onge, and also on temporary duty in Argentina under Jamie Bell and Yves Gagnon. I am very proud to have a proud history with Global Affairs Canada.
I notice the audit report concluded that your department did not have the performance information necessary to ensure it adequately responded to requests for consular assistance from Canadians travelling or living abroad, as you indicated in your overview, Mr. Shugart. “Global Affairs Canada could not ensure that services were effective or appropriate”—that is a direct quote from the report.
Monsieur Shugart, I would be interested to know, how could this government not mandate these performance standards, leaving both your department, and more importantly, Canadians, vulnerable?