Evidence of meeting #35 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was budget.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Karen Shepherd  Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
René Leblanc  Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

Noon

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

Thank you.

I will let Mr. Dreeshen have the last five minutes of this round.

May 1st, 2012 / noon

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and welcome to our guests. It's great to talk to you about this.

I'd like to go into the educational research section here. You spoke of the seven FTEs you have, and we have the budget numbers in front of us. You also talked about the cross-utilization you have within your department and how you take on special roles to make sure that each of those four major departments are able to do the things they're tasked to do. Of course, the more education you have, usually the less cost you're going to have, further on, because you're not having to fix things up all the time.

I wonder if you could talk about how the education component ties into the other departments you have and any actions you might be taking to make sure that the word gets out about the things taking place in your department.

12:05 p.m.

Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

Karen Shepherd

Thank you.

As I have said before, to me education is key in ensuring compliance. The only way to comply is to actually know what the rules and responsibilities are. We have seen that on the registration side, for example, as lobbyists have become better informed about the rules. One of the reasons, too, aside from streamlining our process, is that we have been able to improve the registration side. We ensure that when we are responding to questions that come in from the public those answers are shared so the staff is aware of the types of answers we are giving out. The registration advisers are seeing responses, for example.

On the investigation side, it's about compliance, as Mr. Del Mastro said as well. When we're verifying the monthly reporting, we're educating as well that this is out there, and we're finding out what types of meetings are arranged just by asking the questions for verification.

With regard to internal services, that's one of the things for which I need to strengthen program evaluation, for example. That will allow us to then better assess how the education is making a difference in terms of objectives of these other programs.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

I think that's a key component of it. The more people understand what the process is, the fewer difficulties you are going to have. With fewer difficulties, the less stress there is going to be as far as budgetary issues are concerned, which is of course what we are here to talk about today.

I'd like to go back to one of the figures we had on a spending trend for the office from 2007-08 up to 2013-14. For 2007-08 all the way up to 2009-10 you had—this was perhaps from previous years—the actual spending. In 2009-10 there was a drop, so that you had less actual spending taking place. That was also the year, as you just mentioned, that you had the court challenge, so whatever costs might have been associated with that I assume would have been in that particular year. Since then there has been quite a large increase from 2009-10 to 2010-11. Of course, once that increase takes place, that becomes the base number you are working with here for the next number of years.

I wonder if you could just comment a little bit on what was happening as far as your actual spending was concerned, perhaps a little bit in line with what the NDP were talking about when they were at the table. And then talk about what you feel is going to be the trend line later on.

12:05 p.m.

Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

Karen Shepherd

Well, my budget has remained fairly stable since I have become commissioner. Expenditures have changed, because we were staffing up. When we were doing the Lobbying Act, as well, we were putting a lot of focus into getting education out, so there might have been some difference in expenditures because of staffing dollars. We weren't fully staffed at the time. Now, they are fully staffed. I was looking at some numbers recently. When you look at last year's results, I spent 100% of the budget allocated to me. What was left over was the 5% carry-forward.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

Do I have any more time left?

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

You have 15 seconds left.

12:05 p.m.

Conservative

Earl Dreeshen Conservative Red Deer, AB

I'll leave it at that. Thank you.

12:05 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

Thank you.

So this brings us to the end of the last round of five-minute questions.

We will now continue with the vote on vote 45. I would first like to say that we have heard from the last commissioner today.

We still have to pass vote 20 under Parliament. This vote has to do with the Senate ethics officer. Over the past few years, he has not once appeared before the committee to give testimony. In addition, the mandate of the Senate ethics officer is coming to an end. The new officer has not been appointed yet.

If you don't have any questions about this vote, we can pass it at the same time as vote 45.

Any questions on vote 20?

TREASURY BOARD

Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying

Vote 45—Program expenditures..........$4,193,000

PARLIAMENT

Senate Ethics Officer

Vote 20—Program expenditures..........$702,000

Shall vote 45 under Treasury Board and vote 20 under Parliament carry?

(Vote 45 agreed to on division)

(Vote 20 agreed to on division)

Shall I report the votes on the main estimates to the House?

12:10 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

12:10 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

Perfect.

We are now going to proceed with what was scheduled from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. under committee business.

Mr. Boulerice, would you like to move your motion?

12:10 p.m.

NDP

Alexandre Boulerice NDP Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC

The motion simply says the following:

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(h)(vi), the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics call Claude Benoit, President and CEO of the Old Port of Montréal Corporation, to appear in order to explain the expenses of the members of the Board of Directors and of senior management of the Old Port of Montréal Corporation.

12:10 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

I have looked carefully over this motion and I have my own opinion.

Mr. Del Mastro, would you like to speak before I make my ruling?

12:10 p.m.

Conservative

Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON

Thank you, Mr. Dusseault.

I move that we go in camera for the consideration of committee business. I'll give some comments on the motion.

12:10 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

Before us we have a motion that asks that we sit in camera. We cannot debate this motion and I see that there is a request for a recorded vote.

I would ask the clerk to proceed with the recorded vote to determine whether we are going to go in camera.

(Motion agreed to: yeas 7; nays 3)

12:10 p.m.

NDP

The Chair NDP Pierre-Luc Dusseault

The motion is agreed to. We are going to suspend our business for a few minutes before we go in camera.