Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the opposition member that the department and the government in general take the results of this audit very seriously. They are not the only ones who are dismayed by these results. We are upset about it too. That is why we have ordered a plan to try to fix administrative issues that have resulted in the papers being full of this issue for weeks. The minister acknowledges responsibility. We are not happy about it and we plan to fix it.
Accompanying that there has been an unprecedented release of information. The member opposite must know that the private sector also asks for internal audits of its operations. The difference is that it does not show the public what has been found in those audits. Instead, the private sector makes a plan to fix it and it fixes it. That is what we are doing, but because our taxpayers are interested in the use of their money we have released 16 binders, about five and a half inches tall each, full of information to be perfectly clear and transparent about what it is we are doing and how very serious we are.
The member opposite talks about this as a scandal. I am glad to have an opportunity to comment on that word. A scandal to me is when there is a cover-up, something like sex, lies and video tapes or international spying. The history of this country does have scandals. This is not one of them. Only in Canada would lack of administrative controls be called a scandal as has been pointed out by one of our pre-eminent journalists.
If she thinks there is some connection to partisan purposes, that is fundraising, as has been alluded to in the House by other members, I challenge her to make that statement outside the House because it implies a degree of fraud which we have not found. It has implications for people's reputations and they would have a right to defend themselves.
She also refers to the fact that the opposition has referred cases to the RCMP. After audits and after forensic audits we have referred cases to the RCMP. The opposition is not alone in its virtue.