Madam Chairman, obviously I appreciate those remarks. In the spirit of the evening or at least the lateness of the hour, I will shorten my reply in order to allow the rebuttal from the member for Pictou--Antigonish--Guysborough.
The key to properly administering a department like the Department of Public Works and Government Services is the ability of the minister to rely upon a strong and professional public service staff.
Over the last number of weeks and months there has been a tremendous focus upon the difficulties that have affected one particular program in one branch of the portfolio for which I am now responsible. I want to make the point again that corrective action with respect to that matter began to be taken two years ago.
It was the internal processes of the department itself that revealed the difficulties. There have been very dedicated public servants within that department working very hard to uncover the problems and to apply the appropriate remedies to make sure that a valuable and very useful program can accomplish the objectives it was intended for without running into the administrative or other problems that have been identified here.
It has been difficult for many members of the public service to cope with all of the challenges they have had to face in the last number of months. However, I believe they are up to the challenge. They intend to apply the best of ethical standards. They want ultimately what all members of the House want, which is a program that can contribute to the growth and the cohesion and the inclusiveness of our country and at the same time that can withstand the tests of transparency, openness, accountability and value for money.
That is the kind of program I want to achieve. That is the kind of department I want to be associated with. I look forward to working with my officials and with all members of the House to achieve that in the best interests of all Canadians.