Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I actually want to thank the Auditor General and her team for this report. I also want to thank the witnesses who are present with us today.
It's no secret, I'm sure, in hearing the testimony from my colleagues that it is a disappointment and a terrible shame, I think, to Canada's international reputation but also to our domestic reputation...in order to actually deal with the information management systems in a fair and consistent way.
You made mention in the previous testimony...and it's part of my benefit of going last in the round to have heard many of my colleagues' questions. They focused specifically on information management. I want to thank you for your candid response to the questions in a direct way.
I do want to get more specific. I know it's a difficult topic, and you've had to repeat yourself many times. The information management system.... We're dealing with $3.5 billion in international support. It's arguable that a program that large would have of course contemplated what a strong information management system would look like prior to deployment or prior to looking at partnerships.
At the very beginning and onset of these programs, why was this not ever an issue that was contemplated in terms of the weaknesses that are obvious to the Auditor General, but must also be obvious to you, Deputy Minister?