Finance committee  Yes. Thank you very much. We have started our audit work. In the normal course, audit planning can take a number of months, and we're accelerating that right now. We are dealing with the senior public servants responsible for the departments that we will have to audit. We are re

Finance committee  The audit has commenced. We informed the Speaker a few weeks ago that we had accepted the motion on our work plan, and we're endeavouring to complete it in the time frame that had been requested in the motion.

Finance committee  I can't say that I've been involved in that, so I don't know what the answer to that question is.

Finance committee  I would only say that normally the office would report, in the final report, the information that we gather during our audit.

Finance committee  I might just add one piece. I am also not a betting man, but we did mention in our 2019 report when we were looking at non-tax subsidies that, although the purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline was after our audit period, this would be the sort of action that we would expect E

Finance committee  I'll start with the second question. In the 2017 report, which was presented as an Auditor General report, we did encounter difficulties in receiving the information we needed to be able to conclude on whether the government had analyzed the fossil fuel subsidies.

Finance committee  I wouldn't say that, because at that point in time the government explored our access rights and resolved the issue in 2018, which was the reason we went back to look at the issue and reported on it in 2019. I can say that in 2019 we received all the information that we required

Finance committee  At the OAG, we examine the government's actions. So it's not our job to design a tool like the one you're talking about.

Finance committee  We look at the government's plans and actions according to specific criteria. Many of these criteria come from the government.

Finance committee  I will start by saying that the government has eliminated a number of tax-based measures that we would call fossil fuel subsidies. Our concern moving forward, I would say, would largely be with the non-tax subsidies, with Environment and Climate Change Canada being the lead on th

Finance committee  Mr. Chair, thank you for this opportunity to appear before your committee to discuss our audit reports on fossil fuel subsidies. Joining me at the table is Heather Miller, the principal who was responsible for our most recent audits on this subject. Fossil fuels are a non-renew

Public Accounts committee  It's difficult to answer that question in the abstract. What I'll say, though, is that the recommendation in the legacy report of the last public accounts committee, which I thought was well written, provides the foundation for what you're asking about. The recommendation refer

Public Accounts committee  What Mr. Ricard is talking about would be along the lines of treating special exams like performance audit mandates. Currently it's not exactly set up that way. We have defined criteria in the Financial Administration Act that we have to address in a special exam. If we had a bit

Public Accounts committee  I can answer that. I want to preface it by saying that my comments are not critical of any committee. The public accounts committee has been studying the Auditor General's reports regularly. The reports of the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development go to the

Public Accounts committee  Go ahead.