Information & Ethics committee  Yes, it's not me they're providing the information to. They're advisers of the people who the members or the public office holders phone or consult with, at least at the first instance, to ask questions. As well, they also deal with the annual reports or the initial reports. They're the initial face with the public office holders or the members.

Information & Ethics committee  This is requests for advice...?

Information & Ethics committee  We have 49 positions, and I believe there are 45 on strength at the moment. We're in a “let's see how we can make do with what we've got” space at the moment. A lot of the absences...usually we have a maternity leave or two each year and that's still a budgetary charge. We are using part-time workers, like one-year terms and things, sometimes to fill in behind those people.

Information & Ethics committee  Usually there are a number of investigations going on at the same time and they take varying lengths of time to complete. What we found this past year was that as the year began we had quite a few investigations that had been going on for more than a year or two, so we were determined to get those ones closed down.

Information & Ethics committee  I think they were around $600,000. Denise, am I right there?

Information & Ethics committee  We established them when the new office was established because we had no idea of what kind of activity we'd have, on the investigation front in particular. Generally, over the first few years... It took a year or two to even get organized to start the investigative exercise, but once it started it did increase significantly over the next few years.

Information & Ethics committee  At the moment it seems to have levelled off some, yes.

Information & Ethics committee  Before 2010-11 we did not have an independent auditor. We decided, in the first few years, to have one because we wanted to allow people to be as certain as possible that we were doing a good job with our money. I really don't know enough about comparing it to the others, but Denise can perhaps add something.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you. Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee, I am pleased to appear before you this afternoon as you consider my office's budgetary submission for the 2015-16 main estimates. I thank the committee for inviting me. Accompanying me are Lyne Robinson-Dalpé, Director of Advisory and Compliance; and Denise Benoit, Director of Corporate Management.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you.

Information & Ethics committee  Do you mean what do I want to do?

Information & Ethics committee  I'm quite interested in finishing off a few things. I would love to see some changes as a result of the five-year reviews and help to make that transition. I don't know what the chances of that are. I am in the midst, as I mentioned, of a number of investigations. I would rather like to finish them, because I'm well into some of them.

Information & Ethics committee  I think you have pretty broad latitude as a member. I—

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Then it depends on whether your particular mandate as a parliamentary secretary touches upon something specific. You can't give preferential treatment to your constituents over other Canadians, basically, but you definitely have the obligation to bring forward the concerns and the desires of your constituents.

Information & Ethics committee  I have seen the comments in the papers and I have been in contact with the RCMP. I think the RCMP is still dealing with the $90,000.