I'll leave that with you.
I'd like to come back...and I have to say that I'm still not real happy yet, Mr. Pagan. I would urge you to take a look at Mr. Brown's testimony yesterday, if you didn't see it. He got it in one, and reflected that, and sort of took his hits. I guess what's troubling me is that Treasury Board doesn't seem to be willing to stand up, take the hit, and then talk about how they're going to fix things. We're still stuck on a lot of defensive things. I'm going to spend just a minute on that.
You responded to me, when I read this quote, by saying, well, there wasn't enough clarity. But let's be clear on exactly what clarity we're talking about. This is the AG referring to the guide published in 2014:
In our opinion, this guide did not provide enough clarity to the lead reporting department to ensure that reporting was complete and accurate—
I'm going to tell you that “complete and accurate” data is kind of important to us, and even more so in this term. The AG continues:
—nor did it provide enough information to help departments and agencies report on progress and develop a costing framework for horizontal initiatives.
I remind you, sir, that the Auditor General's opening remarks in this regard were as follows:
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat did not give departments and agencies specific guidance on costing and measuring program results.
This led to “different interpretations” and “inconsistent” financial information. The AG concluded that although departments and agencies met many of their commitments under the action plan, they “achieved limited results” toward the intended benefits. They also had few performance indicators to use in assessing results.
It's Treasury Board that provides them with those performance indicators, so if Treasury Board gets it wrong, everybody will get it wrong. That's why I've been focusing on Treasury Board. When you get it right, it works. When you get it wrong, it doesn't. You got it wrong, and I'm just looking for some kind of assurance, when you got it so wrong in 2014, just a couple of years ago, that we can be comfortable that you got it right this time, because I'm not hearing that.