I would like to talk about the measurables for Transport Canada in terms of wait times.
I really appreciate the comments that were just made on NEXUS. I'm curious to know when NEXUS was started. What year did it begin? Does anyone have any idea?
I have gone through two renewals. I was an early adopter because I travel across the border many times in a year. I think it existed long before beyond the borders began. Just as a point of interest, not that beyond the borders didn't amp it up to become a more important issue, but NEXUS was something that was happening long before beyond the borders, in my opinion. That's from my own sense of when my renewals happened on my NEXUS card.
Beyond the borders might have had a part to play. With regard to the last renewal, it was very much upgraded in terms of having to go back, being scrutinized one more time, updating all the information, including fingerprints, irises, and all that.
I'm reading from the Auditor General's report. If you would like to refer to it, it's on page 18, paragraph 1.74. It says:
Transport Canada and the Agency developed five performance indicators focused on deliverables, such as the number of installations completed and the number of websites and roadside signs posting real-time information. However, we found that Transport Canada had not measured the benefits of existing border wait-time technology even though these installations have been operating for over five years. We also noted that there was no business case to support the need for more installations. Also, although the Agency's website has been posting wait times generated by wait-time measurement technology at five crossings since 2014, the Agency has not assessed whether having this wait-time information available has made a difference to travellers or helped the Agency to better manage its operation or resources.
I'll end it there.
To the representatives from Transport Canada, specifically Madam Higgens, I read that Auditor General's observation, and I looked at your presentation today. On the second page near the end, you say that you were pleased to inform us that you established a working group in December 2016 to address these issues. That was five years in the making.
Is there any reason for the delay, and why would you have the Auditor General need to even point out that you should be measuring the improvements, what the public is receiving, and that these technologies improve, instead of just spending more money on another sign indicating what the wait times are?