Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'll just start with a little statement here. In accordance with the report from the Auditor General, “The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Public Health Agency of Canada administered quarantine requirements for incoming travellers to limit the introduction and spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 and its variants....”
Ms. Hogan, your scope surrounded what restrictions were put in at the border. It is clear that the controls were not as effective as they could have been for slowing the spread and reducing the transmission of COVID-19. However, my line of questioning is actually going to be focusing on the scope of the audit. I have some questions with respect to that. Many of the questions will be put to the Auditor General.
Ms. Hogan, I'm concerned that, despite numerous media reports, your scope did not include the numerous terrible conditions and the civil liberties that were violated within the quarantine hotels and under the enforcement procedures. I would cite the article by Christopher Nardi in the National Post from December 7, 2021, in which he cited evidence of individuals complaining about going hungry and living in dirty clothes.
Also, and even more troubling, there were multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, both within the quarantine hotel system and at compliance checks. I'll quote the Canadian Press article from the National Post on February 24, 2021, which cited police saying, “The accused informed the victim that they were in violation of the quarantine order and demanded that a fine be paid in cash. When the victim declined to pay, she was sexually assaulted by the accused.”
Moreover, I'll quote the Canadian Press article on CTV News on March 10, 2021, which read, “Operators have been telling single women not to tell people of their location and...in some cases there are no locks on the doors within those quarantine facilities”.
Ms. Hogan, given these blatant civil liberty violations, why did you not include the operation of the quarantine facilities, the enforcement checks and the potential abuses of Canadian civil liberties within the scope of your audit?