Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank the members of the committee who've already spoken. I think they've addressed some good points. I know that our colleague Mr. Lawrence—he's not here—mentioned his advocacy for the quality of the report here and how damning it truly is. I think it's of serious concern to this committee to know that these reports in fact can reveal devastating facts about our public service and the areas that need to be improved.
Right from the audit period from February 2017 to December 2019, there was also an extension, I understand, for two months to look at new products and site licences approved between April and May o 2020.
I'd be remiss, as a member of the New Democratic Party, if I didn't mention my concern with the fact that the Office of the Auditor General has workers on strike outside of our office, outside of this meeting. I'm growing more and more concerned about the impact of keeping those workers locked out of the Office of the Auditor General and the relationship it has to the quality of these reports, especially as it relates to the comments by my colleague Nathalie on trust in institutions. We need to be able to trust the Office of the Auditor General and these reports.
Although I do believe this report to be of good quality, I'm growing more and more concerned about the fact that we have over 100 employees of the Office of the Auditor General outside our office right now who can't do the quality of work that we expect this committee to do. I'm concerned about that. I think it's a very legitimate concern.
Many, many people are concerned about our work here. They're concerned about the potential impact of not being able to have the credible reports that this committee needs in order to do the work that this country has done for over 150 years. These reports, I believe, have everything to do with how we understand our role at public accounts. The trust of this institution is so important. The work we do at this committee is some of the most important work this country can do on behalf of Canadians.
I admire and respect every single member of our team, not just my colleagues around this table but also my colleagues who also work in the Office of the Auditor General. I respect that work. I just need to know, as a member of this committee, whether or not any future reports coming to this committee, including this one, especially during the period between April and May 2020, are impacted by the workers being locked out right now. Can we expect delays to the quality of our reports moving forward if all of this continues?