Information & Ethics Committee on May 13th, 2010

[Ryan Sparrow]

Yes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Twenty-one days... You said how many days?

[Ryan Sparrow]

Twenty-one.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Twenty-one days being the precise equivalent of three weeks.

[Ryan Sparrow]

Correct.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

What do you have to say for yourself?

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Ryan Sparrow]

Well, I think we've proven to provide accurate information in a very timely manner.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

And you think it's all right that you provided it 70% ahead of schedule?

[Ryan Sparrow]

I think that was the prudent thing to do. Yes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

Mr. Chair, I'm not sure what we're going to do with this witness.

I'm sorry, I just have nothing further to ask--

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thank you.

Mr. Andrews, for--

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

--but Ms. Davidson does.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Mr. Andrews for five minutes.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

But Ms. Davidson does.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Oh, I'm sorry.

[Pierre Poilievre, Conservative, Nepean—Carleton, ON]

She'll be taking the remainder of my time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Okay. There are two and a half minutes.

Madam Davidson, please.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Okay. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Again, thanks to the Minister for being here this morning, and Mr. Sparrow as well.

I want to take this opportunity to refer to O'Brien and Bosc, page 32. When talking about “Responsible Government and Ministerial Responsibility”, it specifically says:

The principle of individual ministerial responsibility holds that Ministers are accountable not only for their own actions as department heads, but also for the actions of their subordinates; individual ministerial responsibility provides the basis for accountability throughout the system. Virtually all departmental activity is carried out in the name of a Minister who, in turn, is responsible to Parliament for those acts.

It is the minister who is responsible to Parliament.

I would just like to make the comment as well that when we had the minister here at a previous meeting, the minister was so good as to indicate that she actually had a very good handle on what happened in her department. It was not always held in high esteem by every member around this table that knowing what was going on in the department was good for that department, but it certainly is in my estimation.

I would like to repeat that comment again and congratulate the minister on her ability to know what is happening within her department, since she is the one who is responsible to Parliament, not her staff members.

But, Mr. Ryan Sparrow, that said, do you think it's part of your role as a ministerial staff person to support the minister by ensuring that accurate information is given to the media since it's then transferred to the public?

[Ryan Sparrow]

Yes.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Do you strive to do that in every instance?

[Ryan Sparrow]

Yes.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Okay.

Do I still have more time?

[The Chair, Liberal, Paul Szabo]

Thirty seconds.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you.

How would you describe your relationship directly with the media, Mr. Sparrow?