Information & Ethics committee  I think the way one should approach these kinds of questions is to look at how responsible government and the constitutional conventions that inform our basis of government are formulated. The Prime Minister is responsible for determining whether or not he has confidence in a given minister to carry out his or her duties as a minister.

Information & Ethics committee  I think the way the Westminster system is designed is that the role of Parliament is to hold the government to account for how it is governing and ultimately that accountability is discharged through the electoral process. I think at the end of the day the way the system is designed to work is that if there is a large disconnect between a Prime Minister and his ministry and their expectations around conduct and those of the general population of parliamentarians, those disconnects play out through the mechanisms that Parliament has to hold a Prime Minister and a ministry politically accountable through question period, appearing before committees, those sorts of things; then, ultimately, for the population it's through an election.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm not aware, but neither would I be in a position to be aware.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't really want to enter into speculation, nor do I think it's necessarily my role to provide advice to ministers on a question such as that. The communications policy and the federal identity program are under the purview of the Secretariat of the Treasury Board of Canada. It would be those officials who would provide advice on compliance with those policies.

Information & Ethics committee  No.

Information & Ethics committee  While I appreciate the offer to take off my civil servant hat, I can't. It is permanently attached.

Information & Ethics committee  Unfortunately, I don't think that's an area where I can express a view.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chair, I'd like to thank the committee for inviting us to discuss the ethical standards contained in Accountable Government: A Guide for Ministers and Ministers of State. With me today is my colleague, Eileen Boyd, assistant secretary to the cabinet for senior personnel.