Government Operations committee  Yes. The commission proposed that it should be responsible for all those public appointments. I would ask Mr. Arseneault to explain the rationale behind that recommendation.

Government Operations committee  It's not that widespread, but it has occurred, and it's been really annoying.

Government Operations committee  I'm tied by the statute, and I'm asking for a statutory change so that if somebody is being investigated for fraud, they can't move.

Government Operations committee  It has had quite an impact. We've made some observations that during the period of time that we've had this commission in place, there have been some significant changes. We now have a public service that has been basically renewing itself. You have over 50% of the public servi

Government Operations committee  It's not deputy ministers.

Government Operations committee  In regard to the consultants and contingency workers, I don't want to leave the impression that it is wrong to have contingency workers or consultants. I think every large organization needs some consultants and some contingency workers. The issue has always been that this should

Government Operations committee  The consulting is through contracting. I think this committee has also had a preoccupation with contracts and the monitoring of contracts, which is not my area of responsibility.

Government Operations committee  I do. We have seen a significant reduction in that. With the Federal Accountability Act, the priority right that political-exempt staff had was removed, and now the political staffers have to compete for the jobs as do any other public servants. They have the advantage of being

Government Operations committee  This is another area where we've done very well. When I started at the Public Service Commission, we were not doing that well in terms of the number of visible minorities we were hiring at the public service. We've never gone for quotas in Canada. We've always said that we want t

Government Operations committee  It's assistant deputy minister and down.

Government Operations committee  That's right.

Government Operations committee  That's a difficult question, because if this committee continues to sit, you could invite me back and I could be back. If you're taking a break, I may not be back. I could not come back.

Government Operations committee  This commission has me and two part-time members. Our terms are ending May19. An appointment process is to be in place, but progress has not been as rapid as I would like. One of my recommendations in the report is that the commission have more of a responsibility in making rec

Government Operations committee  There's nothing wrong with short-term hires, as long as they're used for short-term purposes. It's the same with temporary help or with contractors, if they're truly used for those purposes. My concern has always been that this is a way to enter into the permanent public service.

Government Operations committee  Yes, I do see that as a positive, because public service jobs are very attractive. In a few disciplines we have problems getting large numbers, but by and large many Canadians want to come and work in the public service. It's an interesting job, it's a very varied job, and you ha