As chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, I have the honour to table the sixth report of this committee.
It is a report in which the committee considered chapter 26 of the report of the Auditor General of Canada tabled in November 1996, entitled "Canada Infrastructure Works Program: Lessons Learned".
I draw the attention of this House to two recommendations in the report. As we know, the auditor general noted that the agreements did not set out specific requirements for carrying out timely compliance audits. Quebec is fairly advanced in this area and a compliance audit system has been set up for a sampling of projects.
Our committee therefore recommends that the officials responsible for the Canada infrastructure works program draw on Quebec's experience and negotiate agreements with their partners to set up a compliance audit system. They should also ensure that the quality and scope of the compliance audits satisfy the requirements of the federal government on the terms of the program.
The second and final recommendation is as follows. Our committee realizes that the calculation of the additional investment based on a minimum threshold represents a significant change in the terms of the agreements. It does not therefore consider this should be included in the negotiations under way to extend the program. On the other hand, the committee recommends that this element be taken into serious consideration in any similar infrastructure program the government may want to establish in the future.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.