Government Operations committee  Good morning and thank you very much, Madam Chair. I am very pleased to appear this morning, accompanied by my colleagues, before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. It has been almost a year since I appeared before your Committee for the review of m

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much for the question. It is a very important one, because in my new role as agent of Parliament there has to be some independence, not only in how decisions are made and how we operate in a quasi-judicial environment, but also from a financial perspective. We cann

Government Operations committee  That is a very good question indeed. When we set up office we put in place some measurements, statistical data, and some systems to be able to capture it. We're at a very early stage, because the vast majority of cases that have been referred to our office do not fall within our

Government Operations committee  In fact, we've developed our own.

Government Operations committee  It's in-house, because it's relatively modest. We had the basic system in place. We will be looking at something a little more sophisticated if need be, but given the numbers, I think it's adequate for the time being.

Government Operations committee  This is a very important question, because you have to build a solid foundation with respect to collection of data. I would go back to the extensive analysis I did when I was at the Immigration and Refugee Board. Given the magnitude of the mandate, what exists in the private se

Government Operations committee  Absolutely.

Government Operations committee  I indicated that the vast majority of files were outside our jurisdiction. We received approximately 200 requests for information. In 80 of these cases, we conducted a bit more research. Even though some of these cases are not within our jurisdiction, we try to point them in the

Government Operations committee  Some files dealt with grievances, some were related to competitions, reclassifications and working conditions. There were also some possibly involving a very serious allegation of harassment, but that is outside the scope of our mandate. I repeat that we must always remind those

Government Operations committee  The Act defines our area of jurisdiction in terms of wrongdoing as defined by the legislation. There are 400,000 public servants subject to this Act. The public sector is somewhat larger on the English side. As you undoubtedly know, conflicts of interest, governor in council app

Government Operations committee  Ms. Dawson retains the authority to deal with conflicts of interest. Our role is to apply the Act in cases of wrongdoing.

Government Operations committee  It is very clear that matters pertaining to the public service fall within our mandate.

Government Operations committee  Exactly. You are right.

Government Operations committee  We are currently completing the analysis of the most recent files. We would like to table our report in May. That will depend on availability in terms of depository services and printing.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we met with two Senate leaders. We corresponded with Ms. Hervieux-Payette. We also met with the Speakers of both chambers. In addition, on August 6, I sent all parliamentarians from the various regions in Canada a message in which I stated that I would meet with any interest