Public Accounts Committee on Oct. 31st, 2011

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, North Vancouver, BC]

Thank you.

Mr. Ferguson, former Auditor General Sheila Fraser has said:

“He will be a very good auditor general”.... He is very capable, a very nice person and I think once Parliamentarians get to know him, they will appreciate him.”

You have made a commitment to become fluently bilingual in your role as Auditor General of Canada. Mr. Ferguson, you were also the auditor general of a bilingual province.

Can you tell us once again what your plans are to improve your knowledge of the French language?

[Michael Ferguson]

I recognize the importance of being able to communicate in both official languages and as mentioned in my introduction I have not yet reached a sufficient level of competency in French, but I am well aware that in order to respect Parliament and the citizens of Canada duly, I am going to have to improve my fluency in French. I have committed to learning French because I feel that that is important. I made an effort during the past year in order to learn French and my progress to date demonstrates that I have the capacity to learn that language.

[Andrew Saxton, Conservative, North Vancouver, BC]

Merci beaucoup.

Mr. Ferguson, can you explain to this committee how you were able to perform so well, as comptroller general, auditor general, and now Deputy Minister of Finance, in a fully bilingual province?

[Michael Ferguson]

The only thing I can say to that is that I have filled three important roles in the province of New Brunswick. I believe I have been successful in those roles.

New Brunswick is a wonderful province with a wonderful, rich heritage in both cultures. I have worked in the provincial government for a number of years in those roles. I have had success. It would have been preferable had I been able to speak French in those roles; however, as I said, I think the record will show that in the roles I have served in, I have been successful.

[The Chair, NDP, David Christopherson]

Thank you.

Your time has expired. Thank you, Mr. Saxton.

Next is Monsieur Godin.

Sir, you have the floor.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Welcome, Mr. Ferguson.

You say that you have not mastered the French language. Is that correct?

[Michael Ferguson]

Yes it is.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

When you applied for this position the following could be read in the Canada Gazette: “The ability to work constructively and collegially with multiple stakeholders, such as parliamentarians and the public service, as well as the ability to communicate effectively, in writing and orally (with the requisite self-confidence and presence of mind), is required.” Further on it said: “Proficiency in both official languages is essential.”

You were aware of that?

[Michael Ferguson]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair.

No, in fact I didn't. I was approached by the search firm. They asked me if I would submit a resumé for the position. I was told at the time that in their consideration of candidates my name had come up a number of times, and they therefore asked me to submit a resumé to them.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

What was the name of the company that was entrusted with the task of looking for candidates?

[Michael Ferguson]

I'm not sure I can even pronounce it. I believe it is Odgers Berndtson.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

How did you feel when you were the Auditor General of New Brunswick and had to audit the government's books? That government had to respect certain policies, but if it did not do so you then issued recommendations to urge it to do so. Is that not the case?

[Michael Ferguson]

Certainly part of the role of an auditor general is to look at the different rules and policies that exist for a government and to test against those particular policies.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

The government has a policy on bilingualism the objective of which is to ensure respect for official languages. Do you not think that this situation runs counter to your beliefs, that is to say that the government must respect its policies?

[Michael Ferguson]

I think, Mr. Chair, I need some more information about the particular policy, as I can't try to audit here at the table a policy that I'm not aware of.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

Are you going to tell me, Mr. Ferguson, that since your name was suggested as nominee to become Auditor General, you did not consult the Canada Gazette in order to verify the requirements?

[Michael Ferguson]

Yes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

You said that you had been comptroller with the New Brunswick government. How many years were you in that position?

[Michael Ferguson]

Five years.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

You were comptroller general during five years and auditor general for five years as well, for a total of 10 years. And you were deputy minister for one year in addition to that. Are you still in that position?

[Michael Ferguson]

Yes.

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

So you spent 11 years in the public service of New Brunswick, a bilingual province. You agree with that?

[Michael Ferguson]

That's true; I have spent 11 years in the provincial government in various roles—five years as comptroller, five years as auditor general, and one year as a deputy minister and—

[Yvon Godin, NDP, Acadie—Bathurst, NB]

You say here: “I understand that in order to be properly respectful of Parliament and the citizens of Canada, that I will need to improve my French language capability [...]”. You have been in New Brunswick for 11 years and have not been able to improve your knowledge of French to the point of mastering the use of that language? How many years will it now take you to improve?

[Michael Ferguson]

As part of this process, I was tested to see what my capacity would be to learn French. It was determined that I had an above-average capacity or ability to learn French. It will be a number one priority for me.

I have been working on it; I am not a beginner in the language. I still have lots of work to do in it, but I think I will be able to get to a level of proficiency within a reasonably short period of time—I would say within the first year.