Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Audit Bureau being part of the Financial Management Board Secretariat is an important tool that I would have as Minister and that the Financial Management Board would have in looking at how our expenditures are being utilized. We do the internal operational audits in all of the departments. We do audits for financial claims prepared under the federal/territorial cost-sharing agreements. We do investigative audits that respond to our management concerns and corporate control functions, which assess the internal financial controls within departments.

So it is important for us, especially me as Minister, to know that we are the check stops. We are the checks and balances of the system. If the system starts to fail, things can go wrong very quickly in the government. I see it as an important tool that we need.

The external audits that can be done to look at government itself and how we do things from an external point of view is done by the Auditor General of Canada and, at times, on the request of the Assembly, has done specific audits on specific departments or specific expenditures of Cabinet of the day. The Auditor General does have the ability to take a very thorough look at any expenditure that we would make as a government. I see that also as an important tool of all Members of the Assembly to ensure we follow the rules we set out and go forward on that basis. Thank you.