Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Health indicated, this issue was dealt with in a very transparent manner.
Indeed, as soon as the minister was told about allegations of improper use of funds, he immediately took three measures.
First, he directed the forensic audit to take place. Second, he told lawyers for the government to go to court and ensure that we had every document needed to trace the funds. Third, he directed that no further funds be paid to the Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation until all outstanding questions were answered.
The government believes strongly that all public money be accounted for carefully and the department assures the House that it will do whatever is required to trace public spending by this organization.
Health Canada firmly believes that the best health programs are the ones provided by those who are most closely involved. This transfer is often made through contribution and transfer agreements, including the agreement signed with that foundation.
Transfers are a relatively new initiative that has experienced some growing pains. With the support of first nation and Inuit leaders, Health Canada has striven to strengthen accountability provisions in the transfer agreements.
In the fall of 2000, Health Canada began developing an internal management control framework to improve the management of negotiations and the enforcement of agreements.
Moreover, all new agreements over $100,000 will now be scrutinized by a review committee and, as of April 1 of this year, all new agreements will comply with the new Treasury Board policy protecting the interests of the state.
The allegations concerning the Virginia Fontaine Addictions Foundation are disturbing. Let me assure the House that Health Canada has taken these allegations seriously and has acted quickly to ensure that all information is gathered so that any misspent public moneys can be recovered.