Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ferguson and Ms. Bédard, we haven't forgotten you. Again, thank you for being here this morning.
Mr. Ferguson, I'd like to begin by saying that your French skills are to be applauded. I can remember when you were appointed, our government drew sharp criticism because you were a unilingual anglophone. Today, you are bilingual, so hats off to you. You're a prime example of the fact that you're never too old to learn. Of course, you're not old. Ha, ha!
You are the Auditor General, and your job is to audit government institutions. In the case of this institution, the audit findings were rather positive, so congratulations are in order. Anytime taxpayers' money is involved, it must be managed with the utmost integrity and responsibility. The audit findings seem to indicate that that was the case here.
That said, Mr. Ferguson, can we draw any lessons from the reports you and your predecessors have produced, so that, when we create new agencies and entities, and introduce practices and policies, we do so in a more effective and efficient way? For example, the government just established the infrastructure bank. In that case, do we run the risk of finding out five years down the road that we failed to implement a certain control mechanism or some other process we should have?
Do you see what I'm getting at? Is there some sort of guide we can use? You recommended that the organization represented here, this morning, improve its system for monitoring collusion, potential risks, and so forth.
Shouldn't that sort of thing already appear in the original statement of work, as soon as a government body is created? Shouldn't these practices be in place from the get-go?