Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ferguson, it's always a pleasure to see you. Before asking you two or three questions, I just want to pay my respects for the way you are doing things. Your reports are very directive. We know where you are going. We know where you stand. We know what you fight for. We deeply appreciate that.
As a former journalist, I deeply appreciate that number each and every paragraph of your statement. It is very easy to refer to.
I would like to point out one thing with respect to that.
Two themes emerge from your testimony today. First, you talked about the government's culture that led to the problems with Phoenix and a necessary change in culture. Second, you talked about the root causes, which, in your opinion, led to those problems. In my view, those are the two arguments you made in your statement today.
Now I want to go back to your statement from last week, especially paragraph 7. You said that, when Phoenix officials informed the deputy minister of Public Services and Procurement of the system's launch, they did not mention some serious problems of which they were aware, and that the decision to launch Phoenix had not been documented.
They did not mention some serious problems.
Mr. Chair, I will keep coming back to this: we cannot make good decisions if we do not have the right information. Worse still, if vital information is withheld, it leads to serious decisions and the disaster we have experienced.
You said that people did not mention some serious problems. In your opinion, is this part of the government's culture or the root causes of Phoenix-related problems?