Government Operations committee  Yes, there was an extensive pre-budget consultation process. I might wish to turn to my colleagues at the Department of Finance, because the Minister of Finance led the pre-budget consultation, and there was a great deal of discussion with provinces, businesses, and others in th

Government Operations committee  I'd like just to add to what my colleagues from the Department of Finance have said. I think, Mr. Chair, one of the things that's important to look at, as well, is the purpose of the programs that have been set up. Clearly, the purpose of the measures set out in budget 2009 is s

Government Operations committee  In fact, I think the budget does talk about accelerating to the extent possible—

Government Operations committee  —spending under those programs.

Government Operations committee  I would certainly defer to the Department of Finance on tax measures.

Government Operations committee  Shortly after the budget, the Privy Council Office, working with colleagues in the Department of Finance and Treasury Board, convened the deputy ministers responsible for each of the departments that have a chunk of the stimulus to get the ball rolling and to organize ourselves t

Government Operations committee  Thanks for the question. I think in the recent report on reporting on the budget the government set out its accountability framework for how it was going to be moving forward to implement the economic action plan measures. We've been working closely with departments to try to im

Government Operations committee  As the Privy Council Office we're responsible for trying to ensure some coordination across government, so we've set up a regular series of meetings with the key departments, the main departments that are in charge of delivering the stimulus measures at the senior level. We are m

Government Operations committee  Merci . The Privy Council Office plays two roles. One is as secretariat to the cabinet, so PCO actually organizes, on behalf of the Prime Minister and on behalf of the chairs of the various cabinet committees, the actual meetings of ministers. We provide advice on what could be

Government Operations committee  The Treasury Board committee is actually supported by the Treasury Board Secretariat. It's the one committee actually established in law, and it has a process associated with it.

Government Operations committee  I'm sorry, Mr. Chair, I don't totally understand the question. I'd like to help answer, but....

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I can't speak to specific items in terms of what PCO may or may not advise on, or to items that were discussed. I can, however, just in terms of the member's question, indicate that PCO does provide advice on the complete range of files the government deals with. So if

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, what I would say is that Privy Council Office is non-partisan. It is staffed by public servants. Our job is to provide neutral, non-partisan advice to the government and to loyally implement the policies and programs the government establishes. We would certainly giv

Government Operations committee  A number of things have been done, and I can itemize them. The first is with regard to the process for cabinet approvals. Work has been done to try to accelerate the normal cabinet approval process. Typically, it would be a number of months after a budget is put out that items w

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the most obvious and I think one of the central means for accountability will be the quarterly reports that will be produced for both Parliament and for the public. I mentioned earlier that we have set up with our colleagues in the other central agencies a regular ser