Public Accounts committee  Thank you for following up with the same question. We need to modernize our IT systems in order to.... If I look at audit work, we already have systems that allow us to do data analytics, but that side of the audit world is evolving rapidly. Artificial intelligence is being used.

Public Accounts committee  That's a great question. I'm not sure I know who the gold standard would be, but I can tell you that we are consulting internationally with other countries and other audit offices across the world. We are not going to be developing our own programs; we are not going to recreate the wheel.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for your question. The explanation can be found in the passage of time. The $10.8 million was based on projections done by Mr. Ferguson, in 2017. Costs have obviously increased with time. When it comes to IT, we have really not invested in our technological systems over the years.

Public Accounts committee  I am very optimistic. COVID has taught us that we don't need to have all our auditors in a location where we have bricks and mortar. We have our main office here in Ottawa, and we have regional offices across the country. COVID has demonstrated to us that we can recruit and hire individuals from across the country, not just in the provinces where we might have a building.

Public Accounts committee  As you mentioned, we have been asking for an increase to our funding for years. As I said earlier, I really see openness and progress in terms of access to funding now that we are at mid-term. The mechanism that will ensure we have access to funding is one that is independent and will avoid us requesting money from the department again.

Public Accounts committee  Like several organizations and a good part of the public service, for the most part our employees have been working remotely since March. That brings about the need to adapt to so many different ways of working. Coaching and mentoring employees is different in a virtual world. Accessing the entities that we audit and the information they need to provide in order for us to do our audits is different, not only for us but also for folks in the public service.

Public Accounts committee  Not at all. Our audit reports will still be based on strong evidence. They will be cleared with the entities. I do believe that the issues we're encountering are just slowing us down a little. What we might see, in order to ensure that we have good quality of audits—and we're actually doing that in an audit on CERB—is that we're going to split it into a few pieces.

Public Accounts committee  I'm happy that you asked. On the investing in Canada plan, I wrote last week to the Speaker to say that we have run into some issues with the timing. The motion that was passed in the House asked us to report on the investing in Canada plan by January. Unfortunately, the pandemic has impacted our capacity and that of the departments we're auditing.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely they will, which is why I am hopeful that funding will come soon. As I mentioned, having a decision about our funding is one thing. Then you need a parliamentary vote, and then you need the funds to flow to us. All of that adds to the time it takes for us to ramp up and be ready.

Public Accounts committee  The discussions I have had with senior officials in the government are very encouraging. They asked us a number of questions, which we answered, and we have provided the additional information requested. Those discussions with government senior officials lead me to believe that they have heard us and are open.

Public Accounts committee  I have a few details for you, but I will ask Mr. Hayes to complete my answer if I forget anything. We have had to defer a few audits, including those on cybersecurity and protecting the north. Those are the two that come to mind. We have also pushed back certain audits, which will be submitted later this year, as the moment is not ideal to do so.

Public Accounts committee  That money is necessary for us to fulfill our mandate in the way we want to. As you said, our work is really focused on activities related to the pandemic and on the investing in Canada plan. The government is doing many other things. There are expenditures, purchases, information on cybersecurity and technology we would like to look into.

Public Accounts committee  Cybersecurity and Internet access are two issues that worry me. During the pandemic, that service is practically essential, especially in the education of children and medical visits. It is very important for us to be able to look into improvements to be made or shortcomings in that area.

Public Accounts committee  As I mentioned, I submitted a new funding request in July. In that request, we were asking for $25 million. Employees' social benefits and accommodation costs are not included in that amount. Therefore, the $25 million was added to our permanent funding.

Public Accounts committee  Madam Chair, we are pleased to have this opportunity to discuss the work of our office, including our most recent departmental reports. With me today are Andrew Hayes, Deputy Auditor General and Interim Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and Kim Leblanc, Principal of Human Resources.