Public Accounts committee  At this point it is, but as I mentioned earlier, there are different types of subsequent events. As soon as the year-end ends, before the financial statements are signed off and an audit opinion is issued, the government as well as the auditors are required to consider all events and decide whether or not they have an impact that's important enough to adjust the financial statements, be disclosed in the financial statements or just be left to the subsequent year.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely. There's a requirement in legislation, both in the Financial Administration Act and the Auditor General Act that I issue an opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the Government of Canada. The government's financial statements are an important accountability document.

Public Accounts committee  There's a considerable amount of information in the GC InfoBase tool. I think even within the three volumes of the Public Accounts of Canada there is a considerable amount of information, and for someone who doesn't feel comfortable with financial information, it can be somewhat overwhelming.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely. The conversation was about what type of subsequent event, what the nature was and if there a need to open them. There were lengthy discussions and then consultations with standards before the decision was made.

Public Accounts committee  The Government of Canada made the final decision. I do not know who within the government. You would have to ask—

Public Accounts committee  I would suggest that you perhaps ask Mr. Roch Huppé who exactly made that decision. I do not know.

Public Accounts committee  It was the associate deputy minister, Mr. Nick Leswick, and I spoke with Mr. Roch Huppé.

Public Accounts committee  The decision to reopen the financial statements once they've been signed off is not one for me to make. The decision that I can make is the impact on my audit opinion. I can tell you that the Government of Canada's financial statements have not had a double dating before since accrual accounting, but we have double dated an audit report in the past, back in 2010.

Public Accounts committee  There are two types of subsequent events. An auditor—

Public Accounts committee  The Department of Finance and the Comptroller General both—

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I want to start by acknowledging that I am on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people. As this is a virtual hearing and participants may be spread across different locations, I want to pay my respects to indigenous people from all nations across Canada.

Public Accounts committee  As I've reported, we believe that some expenses—

Public Accounts committee  Give me a moment to look at the recommendation you just mentioned.

Public Accounts committee  As I said, the program was designed during the pandemic with very clear criteria. When a decision is made on a policy, the government is expected to adhere to that policy in implementing the program. In this case, there were very clear eligibility criteria. However, we found that these criteria were not consistently applied by all regional development agencies.

Public Accounts committee  Again, the criteria for eligible expenses were clearly established when the program was designed. However, the agencies didn't apply them consistently. That does increase risk, and, in our view, it contravenes both the policy and the program as designed.