Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ferguson, we have had several meetings with you. We appreciate your work a great deal. You tell us that a number of departments are enforcing the rules. However, you add that, if the office of the Auditor General does not conduct an audit, the departments do their own thing until you look into their books to check the situation.
In the seven reports that we have had from you, most departments thank you and accept your recommendations. That is how the situation looks. In fact, it is as if someone in the act of committing an offence is caught red-handed by the police as they investigate and then promises to follow their recommendations. Of course the person would agree to follow them.
As members of Parliament, we are responsible for the public purse. We want it to be used optimally. Earlier, you talked about solutions for assessments and efficiency. You said that we must not be satisfied with a 95% success rate. You are completely right.
I am calling on your expertise as Auditor General and the expertise of the skilled team around you. Are you able to provide us with a method by which each department becomes responsible, assesses itself and does not wait for an audit on your part every six years, 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, or 30 years before it does anything?
People in the departments have to be made responsible. I need your expertise to allow us to be even more efficient so that all Canadians who pay taxes to Ottawa can get full value for their money.