Thank you very much, Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses as well for appearing here today.
I want to point out that this is a follow-up on a previous Auditor General's report. I think this is important for those who are watching this committee today. This is the kind of work that public accounts does. We work with the Auditor General's office and we call to account deputy ministers and public servants in following the recommendations that the Auditor General puts forward. Indeed, we are happy to see this, because it's one thing, as my colleague likes to point out, to throw money at a problem, but it's another thing to ensure that the process allows for deliverables.
In that line of thought, the Auditor General did find that the programs contributing to the investing in Canada plan were not spending their allocated funding on projects as quickly as planned. That's something that we often see. Funds can lapse. This is important because, when spending is delayed, then there's a risk that the objectives in the plan will not be met.
Following this finding, the Auditor General recommended that Infrastructure Canada work with its federal partner organizations to improve monitoring, tracking and reporting on progress. We heard something about the horizontal table tool.
I'm looking to Deputy Minister Gillis. Could you talk to us about that tool and how to ensure that spending is not delayed in the future?