Hon. Elizabeth Marshall: My question is also for Senator Gold.

Senator Gold, last month, the Auditor General of Canada released two reports on the government’s aging information technology systems. Here are some of the things she said. She said only 38% of government’s 7,500 IT applications are considered healthy. She said work has not proceeded for 65% of approximately 4,500 applications earmarked for modernization.

Departments and agencies are maintaining old and outdated IT applications and relying on old and outdated IT infrastructure. Personnel with knowledge of and expertise on outdated and unsupported technology are diminishing. Some systems no longer have vendor support. There is no strategy or plan to modernize these old IT systems.

Given the magnitude of this critical problem, a whole-of-government approach is required. Can you tell us what the government intends to do to address this problem?