Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I too want to thank the witnesses for being present here, especially the Auditor General, on such an important day for us.
I want to ask you about your future plans, but on a more particular aspect I am personally, but also on behalf of Canadians, very interested in regard to your experience with the strike. Of course, we have seen unprecedented action this last year in terms of workers demanding respect and trying to understand the issues pertaining to each unit.
When I first arrived in Parliament, there was a matter of disagreement between us and the fact that the Auditor General's Office was going on strike. I met many of the workers, nearly 160 of them, and many of them talked about the terrible working conditions, the culture, the issues of pay, going to food banks. These were workers who were under your charge.
Why was it that when we brought you in to speak about these issues, and we even brought in members of the Treasury Board, we were unable to get an answer to the question of who was accountable and who was making the decisions?
During that time, I asked you directly whether or not you could end the strike, and you responded with no, you could not, and that it was a mandate of Treasury Board, which had to give you an ability to do this. Then when we asked Treasury Board the same question, they said no, it was the direct employer. As a result, I'm a bit confused, and I think Canadians are confused as well.
Who did this in many ways, in terms of who wasn't at the table and who was accountable, and why did the workers feel as though they were forced to go on strike?