Government Operations committee  Not in our case, no.

Government Operations committee  The only response I can provide is that as with the public appointments commission itself, which was established by an order in council, the secretariat was also established by an order in council. So in the absence of any indication that there is not going to be a commission established, we still put in the marker for the million dollars and the four FTEs for the secretariat.

Government Operations committee  Well, the secretariat has done work. They have prepared options to provide to the commission, when it is established, on the code of practice, which is part of their mandate. They are providing advice and assistance on various options around governance selection processes, how to advertise, to PCO.

Government Operations committee  As I mentioned, first of all, the EAP money, the $3.6 million for PCO, includes no money for actual advertising. The role of the communications in PCO is to coordinate intergovernmental communications, to make sure that events are supported, the announcements are supported, and to do media monitoring.

Government Operations committee  We had funding for the coordinator of the Olympics and the G8, and that was for an amount of $2 million in 2009-10. Ongoing into 2010-11, that amount has been reduced to $1 million. There will be ongoing activities until the G8 and G20 summits are completed.

Government Operations committee  First I will explain that while PCO has an overarching responsibility for the coordination of the communications strategy for the economic action plan, we do not actually have any advertising money. All of the advertising is done by the departments that have the programs. However, we do have a coordination role to make sure that the branding is consistent and that the signage is consistent.

Government Operations committee  In our department, as I mentioned, we have five ministers as opposed to one, and so it becomes quite expensive. When the Minister of State for Democratic Reform was established, he was provided with a budget of about $900,000, and so we are not able to absorb that.

Government Operations committee  We are responsible for the leader of the government in the House; the leader of the government in the Senate; the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and Minister for La Francophonie; the Minister of State and Chief Government Whip; as well as Minister Fletcher.

Government Operations committee  I should mention, notwithstanding the comments by the commissioner regarding extensions, that every time we do an extension on an access request, we provide an explanation, a rationale for the extension, and the reason for the number of days. That is sent to the commissioner. We have not received any feedback that our rationales are in error.

Government Operations committee  I don't want to speak ahead of the process, but I don't believe there is any lack of commitment to the access to information process in the Privy Council Office. The strategic review is really meant to be a strategic look at areas where we can become more efficient and go for higher priorities.

Government Operations committee  The increase in our budget from main estimates last year to main estimates this year is $15 million, but I would like to point out that $13 million of that was actually included in our 2009-10 budget through the supplementary estimates. With respect to the various increases, as I mentioned we have $7.6 million in chronic underfunding pressures--for example, there is $1.1 million of that for the Prime Minister's tour group.

Government Operations committee  In response to your question, we get a lot of ATIP requests at the Privy Council Office, and we make every effort to respond to those requests in a timely manner. Because we often will have requests that are fairly complex, there is a requirement for us to have consultations with other departments.

Government Operations committee  In response to the comment, again, I agree that there is a 30-day window that was anticipated by the law to be able to respond to these requests. Unfortunately, many of the files that come to PCO are quite complex. They involve security. They may involve solicitor-client privilege.

Government Operations committee  The $3.6 million and all of the funding that came with the economic action plan are terminal. They will end as of the year 2010-11. They will not be available for us to put forward as part of our 5% cut for strategic review.

Government Operations committee  That's correct.