Madam Speaker, I would like to reiterate the following points.
Audit Services Canada is provided as an optional service for government departments that wish to acquire private sector audit expertise.
The services that Audit Services Canada provide are completely optional and provided on a fee-for-service basis, which is similar to the private sector. Many departments already acquire supplemental audit services directly from the private sector instead of using Audit Services Canada. PWGSC's internal audit group is completely separate from Audit Services Canada. The winding-down of Audit Services Canada will not affect PWGSC's internal audit and evaluation capability.
PWGSC received the highest possible rating of its internal audit and evaluation capability through an independent assessment in 2010-11 conducted by the Treasury Board Secretariat. PWGSC also received the highest possible rating—generally by professional standards—by a third party external validation in 2009 for its internal audit function.