Thank you very much, Chair.
I'd like to thank the witnesses for being here today, and I'd like to thank the Auditor General in particular for an excellent report.
I am glad to see that the department is moving forward on the recommendations and is co-operating in every way on this matter. However, what concerns me is the highly unusual—I would say for this committee—letter that we received from the Auditor General on June 10. It concerns the motion that was passed in the House of Commons the week before regarding the production of documents and indeed the entire audit file housed by the Office of the Auditor General.
In the letter, Auditor General, you expressed your concern about “some of the short-term and long-term impacts of this motion” and how producing this “entire audit file to the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel compromises [your] independence, and is also likely to discourage departments, agencies, and Crown corporations from providing” you and your office “free and timely access to the information required for [your] audits going forward.” This concerns me greatly as a member of this committee because the independence and integrity of the Office of the Auditor General are of paramount importance.
Auditor General, can you explain the background of the letter you sent to this committee last week in regard to the House motion and your investigation of SDTC? Why do you feel it's important to voice your concern at this time? Can you please explain further your thinking behind this?