Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am aware of several instances where the RCMP have made inquiries and investigations. Several of those may have involved the acquisition of files, but as far as specifics, that would be something I would not be able to give in detail at this point in time off the top of my head. That is something we could look at compiling information on, and as long as it was something that would not comprise an investigation that was currently underway, we may be able to share that.

Thank you. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. Mr. Voytilla.

Mr. Chairman, wanting to be careful in the response to the Member to make sure that I answer his question, it was broadly stated that the government was being investigated. I am afraid that is a broad definition, and to my knowledge, I would not say the government was being investigated. There may have been various inquiries made by the RCMP, but they would not necessarily have made me, or anybody else aware of the nature of their investigation or what gave rise to it. They would simply be seeking information pursuant to their investigation. Often that could be of a party the government had some association with or government

activity itself. The RCMP would not necessarily have shared that with us. Frankly, I am not aware of any situation where the RCMP have advised us this government is under investigation at all.

Thank you. Time is up. Total operations and maintenance. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a couple of quick points. Mr. Voytilla had mentioned that presently there were 15 cases under investigation. My question is, if he could clarify and also confirm whether we have an internal audit bureau and if they are doing any of the investigating?

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Well, for the third time, I have already said both to my response to Mr. Steen and response to Mr. Ootes, I will provide the Members with a full detail of how many cases of fraud we have had over the last two years, details of it, et cetera. It is all done, at least initially, by internal audit. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can the Minister tell us if the numbers of staff in the internal audit bureau has gone up, stayed the same, or went down in the last two years?

Thank you. Do you have that information, Mr. Todd?

There has been no increase in staff in the last two years, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you. Mr. Henry.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Final question then. Has the number of internal audits performed by the audit bureau gone up, down or stayed the same in the last two years?

Thank you. Mr. Todd.

Mr. Voytilla advised me it has been fairly constant or consistent with previous years, but we could probably find the detail of that as we provide the rest of the detail that is being requested by Mr. Steen and Mr. Ootes.

Thank you. Operations and maintenance, total operations and maintenance, $20 million. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. Mr. Minister, do you want to designate the response to Mr. Voytilla? Mr. Voytilla.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As I mentioned earlier, I have not been advised by the RCMP that they are conducting investigations on the government as a whole or any particular department. If they were conducting such investigations, they have kept their counsel. With respect to our internal investigations where we might be investigating a fraud or embezzlement situation or misappropriation of funds, those investigations are at various levels in the organizations, and when we provide the information within the constraints of personal confidentiality, we will attempt to indicate the nature of the fraud or misappropriation that has occurred and the level at which it has occurred.

Thank you. Mr. Steen.

Thank you. Mr. Voytilla.