Government Operations committee  I don't think I'll provide too many specific comments on the diagnostic around the subprime situation, particularly in the United States, that also has an impact in Canada. I know there's been other testimony from other independent organizations. The Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Silva. In terms of the relationship between the parliamentary budget officer and the Congressional Budget Office, I think there are things we can learn from the way the Congressional Budget Office operates, but we have to take into account the fact that it operates in a very different system.

Government Operations committee  Sir, that's an excellent question. The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer will try to give you the kind of support you need in terms of dealing with some of those questions. I'd like to make a few points in response to your question. The first is in terms of best practices around estimates in general.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your kind words about the Library of Parliament. I know it's always music to the librarian's ears; he is very proud of the reputation that the Library of Parliament has been able to build over time. In terms of how we will work, partly, as Mr. Sabourin said, we have a bit of a blank sheet.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much for that question. Just to step back, if I could, on forecasting, as you noted, sir, a lot of changes have been made, and the process is much more open now. I think this is a result of actually, in some cases, some pressure by parliamentarians as well and work by different finance ministers to open up the process.

Government Operations committee  We will not be experts on the full range of priorities and policies that would be brought forward, including defence policy, foreign policy. What we will make sure we are experts in is the area of fiscal planning and financial analysis. So if there are questions around financial analysis or questions around the national defence budget, the relationship between operational expenditures and capital expenditures, some of the issues this committee has looked at around accrual-related issues, the capital planning, we would make sure we have appropriate capacity to respond in that domain.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. I believe that I understood your question. We certainly will have capacity within the parliamentary budget office to look at the reports on plans and priorities, which are those longer-term plans for various departments. We will have the capacity with people who have experience in also preparing and analyzing and challenging departmental performance reports in that capacity.

Government Operations committee  I see my role as providing independent, non-partisan advice, and in the context of providing independent advice, at times this may mean there will be a strong challenge function on certain issues. At times, as well, it could be quite complementary with respect to what the government is putting forward.

Government Operations committee  As I said to Mr. Holland, I am not really in a position to talk about the reasons why the process is long. Nonetheless, I do believe that a period of three to six months is necessary and appropriate to form a team, find good candidates, and organize external competitions. We need this time to do our planning.

Government Operations committee  As I said, today is an important opportunity. The goal is to determine what the priorities are for various committees. You now have the opportunity of telling me what your committee's most important priorities are. I know that the time is short, particularly with this session; we're probably looking at another month and a half in terms of working with parliamentarians on the establishment of those priorities, and at the same time doing some hiring.

Government Operations committee  That's a very good question, sir. How can we see behind the curtain? I and certainly the two directors I've hired have had experience in sort of being behind the curtain, so we have some experience with how some of these numbers add up. In terms of your reference to the Ontario situation, and just basically the public accounts themselves, we'll work with the Auditor General, just as we've worked in the past with the Auditor General and the Comptroller General's offices, to make sure that the public accounts of Canada are well represented.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Holland, for that question. There are a couple of parts to that. One is just really the timing issue in terms of my arrival to this job and the time it will take to build the office. I don't think I'm really in a position to provide an effective response to that question.

Government Operations committee  Having said that, I am glad that this capacity is in place now, and there are lots of budgets and estimates processes to look forward to, in which we could, hopefully, support your efforts. As to the second part of your question, to what extent will we be relying on Finance Canada's analytics, and are we adequately resourced and well positioned within the Library of Parliament to provide this advice, it's obviously early going, sir, but I am comfortable that we will be in a position to provide the challenge function that you'll want us to provide.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair and members of the committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you today. I would also like to thank the parliamentary librarian, who is ill today, Mr. William Young, for all his efforts in implementing this position to increase the Library of Parliament's capacity to serve Parliament, and also Mr.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for today. Again, it's an honour to be here and to serve you. I'm looking forward to it. It's exciting for me. It's an exciting part of my career, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity. Thank you very much.