Finance Committee on Feb. 13th, 2008

[Marc O'Sullivan]

And there are crown corporations in which the vice-presidents are paid more than the CEO.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

What restrictions will the Parliamentary Budget Officer face in obtaining information from the government? Will he have authority to obtain any information he asks department officials for? Will confidentiality measures be applied? I would like to know what legislative or regulatory framework will govern that issue.

[Joe Wild]

There are limits on what the parliamentary budget officer can request. They have to request information that's within the mandate, so that's the first limit. They can only ask for what would actually relate to the discharge of the mandate.

The second limit is that it must be for financial or economic data in the possession of the department. But that data cannot include personal information as defined under the Access to Information Act, or confidences of the Queen's Privy Council. That information is out altogether.

There is another set of information that the parliamentary budget officer can request and see, but they are under an obligation to not disclose it unless the disclosure is necessary for the discharge of the mandate. That's information government has obtained in confidence from a foreign government or a provincial government; information that would be injurious to federal-provincial affairs; information relating to trade secrets that would harm the economic position of the Government of Canada; or information that is commercial, confidential, or received from third parties.

[Paul Crête, Bloc, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

If arbitration becomes necessary, who will be responsible for it? If the Parliamentary Budget Officer wants some item of information but the department does not want to give it to him, who decides the issue? Will the Parliamentary Budget Officer have the right or the opportunity to file an appeal in such cases?

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

This will be the final question and answer.

[Joe Wild]

The act doesn't set out an appeal mechanism or anything like that. It prescribes a limit on the authorities of the parliamentary budget officer to obtain information. It is ultimately a question between the department that has been asked to give the information and the parliamentary budget officer as to whether or not the information being requested falls under the information that is not to be provided from the two categories I mentioned: personal information and cabinet confidences.

On the other body of information I was talking about, the parliamentary budget officer can receive it but simply isn't in a position to disclose it unless the disclosure is necessary for the discharge of the mandate. He is just meant to treat it in a confidential manner.

Ultimately, it's going to be a discussion between those two parties. If there's disagreement, if the parliamentary budget officer wanted to insist on receiving the information, because it is a law it could go through lawyers or to the Federal Court, to get the interpretation of a judge.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

Thank you very much.

We'll now move on to Mr. Menzies.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First of all, I want to compliment you, Mr. Wild, on your written submission to us. It's very concise and very precise—we don't always get that precise a presentation given to us—and it's quite factual. We appreciate it.

Something we haven't talked enough about here today, and I'll be very brief, Mr. Chair, is the value of what we're talking about here. We and Canadians have been waiting a long time to see a number of the things that are implemented in this.

The one that strikes me as very apropos today is strengthening the powers of the Auditor General, and the one that our chairman and I would agree on is that we can now audit the books of the Canadian Wheat Board.

I think it's so important today. Let me just put an example of why in front of you. One farmer in my riding, because of the actions of the Canadian Wheat Board today, has lost access to something in the neighbourhood of $20 million to $25 million. I will be quite interested to see the Auditor General's view of what the Canadian Wheat Board did today, actually withdrawing from absolutely the highest recorded wheat markets in the world that these farmers have ever seen. They withdrew from selling it, and their mandate is simply to sell it.

Having said that, it's great to see some of the things we've put in the Accountability Act. The one question I have, to end up, is this.

In item 10, creating a director of public prosecutions, you suggest that there's an acting director in place. When would we expect to have a permanent one?

[Joe Wild]

I'll ask Mr. Sullivan to address the question of the appointment of a permanent director.

[Marc O'Sullivan]

The process is a very lengthy one that's set out in the bill. It involves a committee, which is established and which went through a long series of names, and there are consultations required with parliamentarians. The next step will be to submit....There is a name—it's been whittled down to one name—and the process it has to go through, in terms of a nominee appearing before a parliamentary committee, is the next step. So we'll be proceeding with—

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

So it is functioning as we speak; we're just waiting for a permanent director.

[Marc O'Sullivan]

Yes.

[Ted Menzies, Conservative, Macleod, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rob Merrifield]

We have one other name on the list.

Monsieur Mulcair, I'll allow you to go five minutes.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I know that my colleague from the Bloc Québécois has already raised this issue, that I would still like to come back to a different aspect of classification, to the level of bilingualism required. I would also like to ask Mr. O'Sullivan whether the term “subordinate” appears anywhere in the wording of the legislation passed by the Parliament of Canada.

[Marc O'Sullivan]

No, the word “subordinate” does not appear in the legislation.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

In my view, it would have made things easier.

You have assigned level GCQ-5 to this. Level 5 is the level of the parliamentary librarian, and level 6 is the level of the Parliamentary Budget Officer. Is that correct?

[Marc O'Sullivan]

No, it's the opposite. The Parliamentary Budget Officer would be at level 5, and the parliamentary librarian is at level 6.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Could you tell me whether level 6 is equivalent to the level of a deputy minister?

[Marc O'Sullivan]

Level 6 is the level of an assistant deputy minister, with a pay scale ranging between $134,000 and $157,700.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

Do you know the bilingualism level required for the parliamentary librarian position?

[Marc O'Sullivan]

I cannot remember at the moment. The language requirements for people appointed by the governor in council are not set in the same way as the language requirements for the public service as a whole. When the selection criteria are stated and the positions are announced, the government establishes language requirements, in other words, whether a certain level of bilingualism is preferable or required.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

What did you suggest for the Parliamentary Budget Officer?

[Marc O'Sullivan]

Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that.

[Thomas Mulcair, NDP, Outremont, QC]

What are the language requirements for the Parliamentary Budget Officer?