Mr. Chairman, I should perhaps briefly explain to the committee my job
and the role my unit plays is in the coordination of public opinion research within the government, if that may be of some assistance. As director general for coordination of public opinion research and advertising, I'm responsible for the public opinion research directorate.
This is an organization that has the mandate, pursuant to the Treasury Board communications policy and procedures, to act as technical and coordinating authority for public opinion research for the Government of Canada as a whole. As such, although each individual department and agency is accountable for its own public opinion research, they must come to my directorate, where we are obliged to review and advise departments on the research plans, methodology, and so on. We issue a public opinion research number, which is essential for a department to be able to access a contract pursuant to public opinion research.
In a very quick nutshell, that's the role we play within the public opinion research process within government.