Thank you, Mr. Chair.
It's very timely for me to be here, coming as I do from Windsor, the auto capital of Canada, across from Detroit, Michigan, where we've seen a number of different Canada-U.S. issues related to recalls. I'd like to ask the Auditor General a question.
Overall for consumers, when you look at our two regulations that are in place, it has been very challenging for consumers in Canada versus consumers in the United States. In fact, for the Prius, for example, the recall legislation in the United States led to fines and penalties. Consumers had their vehicles picked up from their homes, fixed, and returned. There was investment in the United States related to that as well. Meanwhile, over here in Canada, there don't seem to be the same types of powers. In fact, the Minister of Transport can't even issue a recall.
One of the things I'm looking at in your submission is point number 10 on information about critical safety issues and manufacturers. Between 2010 and 2015, there were about 318 recalls for safety-related issues that were not brought to the department's attention. From this, it seems to me that the industry standards in terms of expectations for recall appear to be quite different for the consumer in Canada versus the consumer in the United States. Would it be fair to say that we seem to be a laggard when it comes to consumer rights, recalls, and what our response is as a federal authority?