I would add that we share things on three levels. One level is from a facilities perspective. The second level is from a systems perspective. The third level is from a knowledge perspective.
On the knowledge side, as agents of Parliament, we get together at minimum on a monthly basis. As CFOs, for example, we have a conversation on a monthly basis as to what is going on, what the areas are where we could share certain things, either intelligence or resources, and things of this sort. There is an ongoing conversation at that level, which is quite useful.
On the facilities side, as the Commissioner mentioned earlier, two years ago four of us, four of the seven agents, moved into the same building. We have started sharing a number of things, whether a common mailroom, a common knowledge centre, or a library. We share boardrooms, for example. There are a number of things we share from a facility perspective.
From a systems perspective, again, we are always looking for efficiencies that can be made. We share the same financial system with the Office of the Information Commissioner. There are a lot of conversations that happen at that level.
We are web-hosting the platform for the Lobbying Commissioner, whom you will be talking to shortly as part of these sessions, I am guessing. We are always on the lookout for things that may be beneficial for the organization.
When we look at these things, I would say that our lens is threefold. First, are there cost savings to be made? Second, can we improve the services to one another? Third, can we reduce our exposure risk? Again, it is not easy having a small amount of resources dedicated to some of these key functions.
Often what we'll find is that the service level will improve or the risk will be reduced as a result of that. Cost savings, not so much...but as a result of it often we are better served, or we can at least have a decent level of service for our clients within our respective organizations.
