Information & Ethics committee  Our advisory and compliance branch is responsible for what we call our annual revenue. We use an integrated case management system that helps us a great deal because it gives us a recall system. Priority has been given specifically to those annual reviews so that we can be up to date on the situation of our clients.

Information & Ethics committee  That is probably our organization's biggest responsibility.

Information & Ethics committee  Actually, if I'm not mistaken, I think the strategic approach for dealing with case management was brought up by our colleagues in the Information Commissioner's office.

Information & Ethics committee  I do. The budget for advisory and compliance is $1.4 million. Actually, if you include the benefits portion, it's $1.6 million. We've already covered reports and investigations. Policy, research, and communications is $850,000. Legal services is $600,000. Corporate, because we cover all the costs of the MOUs of the shared services agreements, is $2 million.

Information & Ethics committee  If I may, we're currently developing a performance measurement framework. We had to put the policies and the processes in place before we could come forward and evaluate them. We're currently working on doing a performance measurement framework, as I mentioned, where we'll come up with some indicators and some measures to be able to come back and report to you on how well we're doing.

Information & Ethics committee  Unfortunately, we are not very well aware of what goes on in the Office of the Speaker of the House. We submit our budget every year. We determine the amount we will ask for by carrying out an internal exercise, of course. We first determine the financial needs of each directorate and then we compile that information.

Information & Ethics committee  As Ms. Dawson indicated earlier, in past years, we had budget surpluses at the end of the year. They were in the amount of approximately $1.5 million the first year I worked at the Office of the Commissioner. A lot of money was returned to Parliament. At the end of the previous year, we returned close to half a million dollars.

Information & Ethics committee  Exactly. Although we do have two positions in HR, one of them is vacant right now. One person is on an extended leave without pay, and we haven't replaced her. That was duly noted. When one of those two positions becomes vacant permanently, at that point there will be a decision.

Information & Ethics committee  We have shared services agreements with the House of Commons and the Library of Parliament, and that covers IT and finance, and also with Public Works for pay. Those are the services that we contract out for, but they're still within the public service.

Information & Ethics committee  Their budget is about $800,000 out of the $7.1 million.

Status of Women committee  Absolutely. For the time being, we use it mostly for compensation. They offer a wide range of services. We've gone to them for some advice on interpretation even of our own collective agreement, because we wanted to make sure that we were making the correct interpretation. They also offer services in labour relations.

Status of Women committee  If I may add, although it's not prohibited, if it were to happen, of course—

Status of Women committee  We would look at the reporting relationship between the two individuals, because, of course—

Status of Women committee  —one could have authority over the other. So there would need to be some change made to the employment of someone at the place.

Status of Women committee  When we covered the value of respect for people in our code of conduct and standards of ethics, we were general and we provide general statements, but when we covered the behaviours that would be prohibited at the office, one is specific in that it says that no employees will feel harassed by either words or actions of others.