Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Again, I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us.
Mr. Sabia, I'm pleased to see you again, too.
We talked about it at the last meeting and informally even more recently. The performance audits done by the Office of the Auditor General are very important. I'd like to reiterate today the need for such performance audits, particularly on certain programs administered by Crown corporations. Indeed, Crown corporations don't have the same levels of transparency and disclosure of their expenditures as departments. It's therefore more difficult for a citizen to obtain information from them, so the work done by the Office of the Auditor General is essential in this regard.
Previously, there were questions about the Canada Emergency Business Account. We can see that there have been serious problems in the administration of this program. I would very much like to reiterate the need for a performance audit of this program.
I'd also like to focus on one aspect of the Auditor General's report, accounting standards. Canada doesn't yet require organizations to report on their compliance with environmental, social and governance criteria, ESG criteria, or on sustainable development.
Madam Auditor General, how do you explain the fact that compliance with these standards is not yet mandatory in a country that has fairly ambitious objectives in the fight against climate change? Could you also tell us how ESG criteria could help in that fight?