Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. The guide I was referring to was produced fairly early on in our efforts respecting communications with Canadians, and so there may be a number of newer elements that don't feature in the document. I think members will find the document useful in the

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your question. Mr. Chair, I am going to make two observations. We are doing a bit of analysis of use of the Web site. We want to know what Canadians are looking at when they visit the site. One of the most popular features of the site is the guide to programs and

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair. Certainly my experience has been that the survey work that's been undertaken by the government, by government departments, has followed strict protocols and is staying well within the bounds of what would be considered acceptable in terms o

Government Operations committee  I think I can send all that information to the Committee in the next two weeks. If any information is unavailable, because of a Cabinet confidence, for example, I will be able to explain.

Government Operations committee  The decision that was made was to involve all government departments in coordinating communications, including advertising, signage and so on, so that Canadians would be informed of the available programs. For example, it was decided that there would not be 30 or 40 Web sites, bu

Government Operations committee  No, it's a program...

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, is that a question?

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the last time we were before this Committee, I think the Secretary to the Cabinet, Mr. Wouters, explained the purpose of communication intiatives. The purpose is to inform Canadians of the benefits of the programs to which they have access.

Government Operations committee  Yes, of course.

Government Operations committee  No. Thank you for the question. Mr. Chair, the idea is to consolidate in one place all of the information on the Economic Action Plan. We worked with the departments. The programs are managed by departments; the Web site content was prepared by the departments, too, but...

Government Operations committee  That would have been about....

Government Operations committee  Of the remaining moneys, roughly $1.6 million is for the website, and that's not taking it down to the last dollar. That's divided between the people who generate the content and the people who maintain the system. Then there is about $1.3 million for the various other activities

Government Operations committee  That's correct, yes.

Government Operations committee  I can't speak for all staff in corporate services, but certainly the staff who work for me on the website are people we have seconded from other government departments. So they are on a short-term basis. And indeed, I have authority under this submission. We would hire up to eigh

Government Operations committee  In our budget, according to the figures I have handy, we have about $200,000 of the total $3.9 million dedicated to what you would roughly call a public opinion research type of activity. And I would have to get back to you with the specifics of which particular firm that $200,00