Public Accounts committee  Following the May 11 leak, I think, on the firearms chapter, we were asked by the OAG to conduct an investigation.

Public Accounts committee  That's my understanding, yes.

Public Accounts committee  We also had a complete review of our administrative practices regarding the—

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, is the member's question about the quality of the investigation that we do in the department?

Public Accounts committee  We relied on our staff. As I mentioned, he is qualified in this area, and he is certainly qualified to do a good investigation.

Public Accounts committee  He could find no evidence of a leak coming from our department.

Public Accounts committee  We had our special investigative unit track down the chapters, ensure that we could restore the copies, and actually check the text of the report in the newspaper against facts in the chapter. We had our expert team on it.

Public Accounts committee  They did actually interview those who had received copies of the chapter.

Public Accounts committee  We did that, we restored the chapters, and we checked, as these investigators do. I should add that the investigator on the case is a retired RCMP officer who has certification in fraud investigation. He took the measures he thought necessary to check the leak.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, I can certainly answer for our department. We now have very strict procedures around any discussion of Auditor General reports. We prevent anybody who's dealing with information in the reports from using the e-mail system to record even their thoughts on it. We keep

Public Accounts committee  They're not allowed to record anything about the report or its contents on their BlackBerrys.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, if you might allow me, as a result of the alleged leaks and out of our concern about this issue, we've developed quite a detailed protocol we are using with the Auditor General's office in dealing with the discipline around our dealings with her office on the report

Public Accounts committee  I'd have to check the protocol for all of the specifics, but I don't believe we've addressed BlackBerrys in particular. I think it's probably covered off with the rule against using any kind of e-mail, BlackBerrys being understood to be included, to communicate any information in

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and good afternoon, committee. Thank you very much for this opportunity to talk about Public Works and Government Services Canada and its report on plans and priorities. I have with me at the table today Mike Hawkes, our chief financial officer

Government Operations committee  We have a very sound information base, and we can provide you with detailed information. But I would say in general that Professor McKellar is right. I think in the public sector--and this isn't just in the federal government; it applies to other governments as well--it is diffic