I have a statement and I'll take less than a minute, Mr. Chair.
I just wanted to make a reference to page 7 at the top where the department says, “The following initiatives have been or will be initiated before the end of 2016”. I just assumed this was probably written last year because these things lag. I won't read what comes after it.
Then the next paragraph talks about other initiatives that “will be under way in 2017”. Referring now to the last, just before the conclusion, it says, “They were to be implemented gradually”. In 2009 you had a new strategy for retention and, “They were to be implemented gradually from 2009 to 2011.”
Now I'm quoting the Auditor General, “We were informed that action had been taken for some individual projects, but that the strategy had not been fully implemented. In 2014, the Canadian Armed Forces Retention Working Group planned to develop a revised retention strategy, to be completed by June 2018, using the 2009 strategy as its base.”
I'm assuming, if you're using 2009, that the strategy was good but you didn't have the funding to make it real, and that by June 2018, you should have everything caught up. I just want to leave with you that this would probably and potentially be a prime reason for us to ask you to come back in the fall and tell us exactly how well you're doing. I do not want to wait another few years for another audit report that might point out a problem. If we have one, we need to see it early. Conversely, if you're finally hitting targets in this area, then it's an opportunity for us to give you the kudos that you will deserve.
Thank you for your indulgence, Chair.