Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to all our witnesses for being here today.
You all know how long I've been around here. The more we get into this, the more I think we need a separate, stand-alone public accounts committee for defence and aboriginal affairs, because we just never seem to turn the corner. Every time the department comes in, it's always, “we got it right this time.” I share Mr. Lefebvre's sentiment. Why should we believe that this time it's going to be different? I also agree with Mr. McColeman that this is an incendiary report.
Really what is problematic is not the part where we're finding new problems, and what are you going to do about it? It's these ongoing problems that keep happening time after time after time.
Let's go through it again.
On page 22 of the Auditor General's report, paragraph 7.85 is on National Defence's performance. These are the words of the Auditor General:
In response to the questions about our 2011 audit, National Defence told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts that it would develop performance measures on its maintenance and repair activities and its financial and materiel information system by December 13.
This is an example of how there's a problem, and there's an offer to fix it, and you tell us you're going to do this and everything's fine. And what does the next paragraph, 7.86, say?
We found that while National Defence had established performance measures in support contracts with private firms, it did not develop similar measures for its own performance.
Help me understand how telling us in 2011 that you're going to deal with this issue effectively, and you're going to put the measures in place....and then we find out it was only a half-measure, that it was done for the private sector, but not on your own. Is there a good reason for that?