Evidence of meeting #44 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was million.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'll continue where I left off. I had a question about this chart that you provided us. If I do my math right, and you show your program spending.... I have to tell you that in my previous life I loved to go through budgets--sorry about that--and you don't get as much chance around here as I had in the past.
You show 72% for personnel, but the next biggest item is professional and special services. Can you explain to me what special services are? What are you buying?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I think this was a question of particular interest to the honourable members at our last appearance on our budget, so we have prepared some additional material. May I ask the director of corporate services to speak to that?
Director General, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
First, in terms of the label that's used, “professional and special services”, that's dictated by others; we're just paying for the label.
To give you some sense of what's in there, though, it's a wide variety, a real mixed bag. You have training in there. Of the amount that's identified, the $2.3 million, $275,000 has been allocated for training. We have specialized IT consultants. Of that, we've got $200,000 allocated. Additional accounting and audit work is required--
Conservative
Director General, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
These are paid out.
Director General, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
So that's $100,000. Legal services is $350,000; temporary help is $200,000. As I said, there's a wide variety of stuff in here. Translation is part of this and it's $325,000.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Thank you. I didn't know what it was, and I appreciate that.
Is that line item increasing over last year, or is that about the same?
Director General, Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Only relative to the fact that there was an increase over last year to begin with, so relative to that increase, yes, it is--
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Percentage basis, but it's not changing that piece.
I have a question for you on your book, and this one isn't exactly about money, but on page 12 you talk about your priorities for 2007-08. You heard from us before about education, and I think I asked a question about it earlier in my previous round.
I don't see education as one of the top five. Am I missing something in one of these spots?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
No, honourable member, because I know that when we talk about education we're talking about what's happening in bullet number 1, “improving and expanding our service delivery”. Education is one of the services we give to the public. One could also argue it's in bullet number 2. When we appear before the committees, these are usually events that have a certain amount of public interest. They take a certain amount of preparation. You deal with very important issues like PIPEDA, like reform of the Privacy Act, ID theft, so that goes in--
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
So you're saying I shouldn't be looking for a box that says “education” or “privacy issues”, that it's all part of the activities that are within those priorities?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
That's right. The conference, if I may say, honourable member, is a huge education event.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Can I ask you a little bit about the conference? First of all, who comes to this? Are we invited to this thing, members of Parliament?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Sure. Anybody can come.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
That's my question. Is it all privacy experts, or are there people at these events who are involved in the issues from a political point of view?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
A cross-section of people come to this, from industry, from government, from civil society, from universities, from the scientific world, from the legal world. So, yes, anybody can come to these events.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Okay. In the big book--and you don't have to open it, I just have a question about it--the contribution side says:
Privacy Issues -- Research and Policy
The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act
Class Contribution Program..........$500,000
What is that?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
That's the money that was allocated in 2000 for what's called a contributions program, which means a research program. Every year we run a research grant program.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
We actually give money to people who are doing research, based on their input into whatever the research is?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
That's right. We run a competition, and we select the best ones.
Conservative
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
It has. I think 2004 was the first year it was used.
Conservative
Mike Wallace Conservative Burlington, ON
Do we get enough applications to use up all $500,000 annually?
Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Last year I think we handed out a little under $400,000. If the applications don't meet certain criteria, we don't fund them just to spend the $500,000.