Mr. Speaker, the federal government claims most departments will be ready for the year 2000, but only most departments. What does this mean?
Nineteen departments are identified as having mission critical systems. These are systems where a problem like the Y2K bug will directly affect the health, safety, security and economic well-being of Canadians. These systems keep track of food inspection, security intelligence, air navigation, weather forecasting, search and rescue, and the pension plan.
Will the computer programs be ready for January 1, 2000? Hardly. In fact, recent government surveys show that the Department of National Defence is not ready for the year 2000. If our defence systems fail, the lives of Canadians could be at risk.
Canadians need to know how serious the Y2K problem is. It will affect our daily lives. The question now is how will we be affected? The government's repeated comments about making the necessary efforts are not realistic or responsible. Is the government too far behind to catch up? When will we know?
The government has done too little too late in addressing this urgent situation. So much is at risk, the government should be ashamed of itself.