Government Operations committee  If we are assessing the awarding of significant contracts as part of our work on COVID-19, I expect that we will ensure that the government policies and procedures that govern the awarding of contracts have been followed. Yes, there are exceptions. Yes, during the pandemic, decisions may have been made faster, as you mentioned.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your kind words. Indeed, the pandemic is having an impact on our employees. Right now, everyone is working remotely. Like many government departments, we have difficulty accessing information. Teleworking represents a change of habits for everyone, since we have to use technology to do everything virtually.

Government Operations committee  The criteria are an extremely important element in every audit. We agree with the target entity on the criteria we will use for accountability. We look at a number of elements, such as the money spent and the effect on Canadians. We have also initiated discussions with deputy ministers to find out what concerns them and what the objectives for each measure are.

Government Operations committee  As most members of the committee probably know, we have requested an increase in the permanent funding of the Office of the Auditor General. We are currently brainstorming creative solutions. Sometimes it's contracts; sometimes it's changing our plans. We're doing our best to make sure we have all the auditors we need to do our work.

Government Operations committee  I can go first, and I'll let Mr. Hayes add his comments. Several of these new employees are part of our information technology, or IT, group, and many of them are auditors. This number seems significant, but it's not a lot, given the regular decline in our staff. People leave us on a regular basis, as they do in all organizations.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much for that question. Unfortunately, given I'm still completing the procedural steps to finalize my nomination and getting up to speed on all of our audit work, I don't have the specifics of what we would have not done last year. Perhaps my colleague Andrew would know that, but I do know that we have, as I mentioned, four reports ready to go, three under the banner of the Auditor General and one under the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development.

Government Operations committee  I believe the Investing in Canada plan is a rather new plan, so this would likely be our first time. I know that many of our audits in the past have focused on significant spending. Typically those are large projects that we would have turned our attention to because of the importance they would have to Canadians and to services that are provided to them.

Government Operations committee  I'll keep it short. Thank you. We're in the process, as I mentioned at a previous hearing, of our steering committee looking at exactly where we might go and what we might look at. Obviously protecting health and safety is a key matter that we will be looking at. It's a little early to decide on the exact specific areas, but preparedness and actions during the pandemic, as well as lessons learned, are definitely areas we're focusing on.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, thank you for inviting us to discuss the role of the Auditor General in examining the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With me today is Andrew Hayes, deputy auditor general and interim commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. I'll give you some background.