As President of the Treasury Board, I am the responsible minister. A total of six ministers serve on the Treasury Board.
My experience as a member of Treasury Board at another level of government likely led me to make this suggestion. The Minister of Finance, whose job is one of the most important in government in terms of responsibility, didn't always have time to attend TB meetings. However, the current minister manages to attend meetings far more often than did his predecessor. He's already attended two or three meetings. Occasionally, the minister submits a written notice to the committee.
He is the vice-chair of Treasury Board as a cabinet committee; he is not vice-chair of the secretariat, or the deputy minister responsible. That's an important distinction. Each cabinet committee--Treasury Board is one--has a chair and a vice-chair. He is the vice-chair.
I think there's a strong engagement, personally, between the Minister of Finance and me. There is a strong engagement between our staff. There's a strong engagement between our officials. I think Minister Flaherty has said publicly that there certainly will be strong collaborations. I think that has been quoted in the media.