I had a pretty clear appreciation, because when Mr. Jean asked Judge Moshansky the question to which you made reference, I immediately followed it up. I have this according to the Hansard. Judge Moshansky said, “I think it would be very good”. My response was to immediately ask whether he thought it would be very good because he understood that there would be no diminution of funds for the audit program and the regulatory system. And he said that, yes, he took it for granted that of course the government would continue its oversight.
The other witnesses who came before us, Minister, all gave us an indication that the SMS would be useful, provided the government inspectorate would not be diminished.
The issue is not so much that there would be a systems-wide plan for safety, but that the operational component of airline safety would be monitored, regulated, reported on, and appropriately dealt with when there was non-compliance. Nobody has so far been able to give us an indication that this is in fact what's going to happen. I dare say, Mr. Minister, that your departmental officials, who must know what the funds are, because it all relates to dollars and people, still have to do the research on it, by your admission.