Thank you to my colleague.
To the two professors, similarly to dividing policy from administration and management, the accounting officer concept attempts to entrench responsibility in the area of administration. But internal audits and whistle-blower issues spin off into other jurisdictions: internal audits into the Comptroller General, various whistle-blowing aspects into other oversight bodies.
It seems to me that where you didn't go is where we need to know: how can the accounting officer and the deputy minister...? Within what both of you say is the context of ministerial responsibility, how can the accounting officer be responsible to Parliament? Would you support the notion that, as the Auditor General reports on matters in her domain four times a year, the accounting officer should report to Parliament on whistle-blowing issues that have been raised and have been brought to his or her attention, and extreme incidents of administrative shortcomings that come as a result of internal audits or whatever? It would seem to me that each deputy minister should be a member of the internal audit committee that has been put forward by the legislation.
My question is, Professor Kroeger, how would we tighten up that accountability? How would we close the accountability loop through the accounting officer who is responsible for administration?