Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am accompanied by Andrew Parkin, director of research at the Foundation.
The foundation supports the objectives of the Accountability Act, which it perceives to be enhanced public participation in the development and delivery of programs, and enhanced accountability for actions and spending, which we believe will lead to more efficient and effective use of public resources.
It also believes that accountability is a matter not only of action but also of perception. From the very beginning, the foundation has consistently gone beyond the reporting requirements of its legislation in order to provide the public and members of Parliament with a detailed account of its operations and opportunities to become involved in the development and delivery of its programs.
With respect to the accounts of our operations, of course we table an annual report in Parliament, but I would also refer members of the committee to our website, on which they can find an account of exactly where the foundation's money is going on a regular basis, constantly updated by the level of institution, province, or constituency. We also publish evaluations of our activities.
I also mentioned that we involve the public in developing the programs. Our directors and members are drawn from the broader community, we use citizen advisory panels for major programs, we conduct public consultations prior to all major initiatives, and we deliver many of our programs in partnership.
We believe that one of the most important effects of the proposed legislation will, therefore, be to enhance the perception of accountability by replacing the foundation's voluntary transparency with legislated transparency. Henceforth, the foundation will not only need to make its actions transparent, but it will also need to be in a position to demonstrate that it is prepared to do so in accordance with standards established by an external authority, the Parliament of Canada.
Meeting those standards will require some effort and will incur some costs. Having a small staff of 40 people, whose energies are primarily focused on delivering $340 million in student financial assistance to approximately 100,000 students a year, the foundation has, of necessity, engaged the services of consultants to help it understand exactly how the act will affect it, and to propose systems that will permit us to meet the requirements of the proposed legislation. We will be pleased to provide you with further information as we receive the report from the consultant.
However, I have a few remarks to make with respect to specific parts of the bill, if the chair would permit.