I want you to know that I would have cancelled in any case. At least I'm honest.
Thank you very much for inviting me here today. I have a brief statement to make.
As you know, this is my first appearance as Minister before a Committee of Parliament. I can assure members of the committee that I will answer their questions to the best of my ability and I will, of course, carefully listen to their views.
Several senior officers of my department are in attendance with me today. They include Mr. Marshall, who is the Deputy Minister, Ms. Aloïsi, who is Associate Deputy Minister, Mr. Bennett, who is Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Acquisitions Branch, Mr. McGrath, who is Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Real Property Branch, and Mike Hawkes, who is our Chief Financial Officer.
Madam Chair, I know that many of the members of this committee have been in Parliament for several years and will have surely formed their views of Public Works and Government Services Canada. As I informed my opposition critics, who are focussing mainly on my department, those that I have had the time to meet since I became minister, I will always be open to suggestions aimed at improving the Department of Public Works.
I would also like to say that I was very honoured last February when Mr. Harper called on me to serve in his Cabinet as the Minister for Public Works and Government Services and the minister responsible for Greater Montreal. The Speech from the Throne, as you know confirmed the five priorities our government will pursue in the coming weeks and months. Cleaning up government is at the top of the list. The Federal Accountability Act, with which you are quite familiar, will be the cornerstone of our efforts to change the way business is done in Ottawa.
The reforms contained in this bill are comprehensive. They will have a particularly positive impact on my own department, but will be felt in all institutions and in all corners of government.
Members know a legislative committee is currently studying the bill, but I believe it is important for this committee to be seized with two elements of the proposed FAA that will have direct implications on my department.
Bill C-2 contains a number of measures to clean up federal contracting, an important common service role provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada. We are the government's experts in procurement, and we will lead the way in reforming the process to ensure it is fair, open, and transparent.
Once Bill C-2 is proclaimed, it is the government's intention to create the new position of procurement auditor with a mandate to review, on an ongoing basis, the government's procurement process to ensure fairness and transparency, and to make recommendations for improvements. The procurement auditor will also establish a process to review complaints from vendors and will manage an alternative dispute resolution process for contract disputes. Bill C-2 anticipates the procurement auditor will be appointed by Governor in Council and will report to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. An annual report will be tabled in Parliament.
In addition, I will soon be launching the consultation process with industry associations, research institutes, and other stakeholders on a code of conduct for procurement. This code, which I hope to have in place by this fall, will consolidate all existing conflict of interest and anti-corruption measures into a comprehensive and transparent statement of expectations for government employees and suppliers alike.
As another measure to clean up government contracting, integrity provisions will be included in all bid solicitation and contract documents to provide a clearer statement of the existing obligations of contractors under the Criminal Code, the Competition Act, and the Lobbyists Registration Act. Taken together, the code of conduct and integrity provisions will clearly define, for public servants and suppliers, acceptable conduct when contracting with government.
The proposed Federal Accountability Act also re-enforces the commitment of our government—and my personal commitment as minister—to improve access to government business for smaller vendors and vendors in all regions of Canada.
Small and medium enterprises account for 43 per cent of Canadian GDP, 66 per cent of all jobs in the economy and much of Canada's economic growth. Creating opportunities and rewarding the hard work and innovation of Canada's small and medium enterprises is a key commitment of the government. For this reason, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises has been established within Public Works. The office has already begun to address the concerns of small and medium enterprises in order to ensure that firms have fair opportunities to compete, regardless of their size and location.
Six regional offices of Small and Medium Enterprises have been established. They are a critical element of the Federal Accountability Action Plan, and represent a major commitment to small and medium suppliers to government. With a presence of these offices across the country, the government can ensure that smaller vendors and vendors in all regions of Canada receive due consideration in bidding for government contracts. The government as a client and, indirectly, taxpayers will benefit from having more suppliers compete for government business. Prices should go down and innovation and creativity rise.
The second aspect of the proposed FAA of particular significance to my department relates to public opinion research and advertising. As a first step in rebuilding public trust in this area, we will make it mandatory that all public opinion research reports commissioned by the Government of Canada be provided in writing, and that a copy be submitted to Library and Archives Canada. As well, Bill C-2 will require departments to make all such reports public within six months of the completion of the project.
I will soon appoint an independent adviser for a term of six months to review, assess, and report on government procurement practices for public opinion research, including issues raised in the Auditor General's 2003 report, and to recommend whether further action or inquiry is required. This individual will be selected pursuant to the special appointment regulations issued under the Public Service Employment Act and will report to me as minister. His or her findings will be made public.
The business transformation agenda that is now under way within Public Works and Government Services Canada shows that the management and staff of this department have only one goal, to serve the public interest in the best way possible by making the right business decisions on behalf of Canadians.
We are committed to developing the most efficient, effective, and lowest-cost accommodation strategy for the Government of Canada—work that I wholeheartedly endorse and will continue to support. Key decisions need to be made about our aging real property inventory, and I have been looking at this issue for a while now. In addition, my department is also reducing the average space per employee, rigorously applying fit-up standards throughout the government, and taking a more aggressive negotiation approach to leases.
I have also endorsed the procurement reforms that are underway in my department. Every year, the Government of Canada purchases over $20 billion in goods and services, the majority of which is bought by Public Works and Government Services Canada. By leveraging the buying power of the government as a whole and taking steps to reduce the cost and time it takes to purchase goods and services, we will achieve better value for Canadians.
Our Shared Travel Services Initiative is an example. This initiative is targeted to reduce the government's annual $1.2 billion travel bill by $375 million over five years.
Madam Chair, members of the committee, I appreciate the opportunity to make these brief opening remarks. I welcome any questions the committee might have at this time.