Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you all for being here this afternoon.
Welcome, Mr. Huppé. This is our first official meeting with you. My sincere congratulations on being appointed comptroller general.
Mr. Ferguson, I would also like to commend you on how well your speeches are written. It is a real pleasure to read them in French because they are so well written and all the sentences are excellent.
We are pleased that the Commentary on the 2017-18 Financial Audits was presented separately, even though it took us some time to find it. This document is very informative and helps us better understand what the Public Accounts of Canada are about. It is not necessarily easy for us as neophytes to accounting to understand the essence of the Public Accounts of Canada.
As a government representative, I am very pleased that the auditor general has issued an unmodified audit opinion for 20 years in a row. Once again, I note that it is without partisanship. The entire public service should be congratulated for conducting the country's financial management in such a clear and professional manner.
I have a lot of questions about pension funds and how the calculation of rates has become much more realistic. This will also reassure those who analyze the state of Canada's finances.
Mr. Huppé, could you fill us in on the how and the why? I know the auditor general has identified this problem for the past two years. How did you go about revising the pension fund rates? What exactly does it mean for future pensioners in Canada?