In the case of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, on the other hand, the last audit took place in 2017. That was six years ago. You're conducting another special review of the foundation, for which your report will be published in 2024, so seven years later, but you might not even have done that, were it not for the whistleblowers.
If the government itself managed taxpayers' money within departments, you would look at the figures annually, which would be much more desirable in terms of transparency, but also in terms of accountability.
In the government's new policy of sending hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, to Crown corporations that are not subject to the same standards of transparency and are not audited as often, I perceive a contempt for the taxpayer who wants to know where their money is going.
As a Member of Parliament and a member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, I think it's a real shame that we can't look at the way our money is spent in the budget more often. As I've pointed out on a few occasions in the House, we're seeing more and more taxpayers' money being sent without transparency to agencies like Sustainable Development Technology Canada, or Crown corporations like Export Development Canada or the Business Development Bank of Canada, so we don't have access to the kind of detailed information that departments are required to provide.
In fact, that's why we asked Treasury Board to review the accounts and transparency requirements.
In this case, I can see that there was a problem, which could likely have been avoided if Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada had managed the money itself.