Madam Chair, I don't know if the position was created solely in response to the sponsorship issue, but I think it was created because almost everybody agreed that procurement, which in itself is supposed to be a means to an end to help government departments achieve their program objectives and the government achieve its operational objectives, was really becoming an impediment to that, and almost everybody agreed that there was an independent focal point needed to help.
Now, who am I accountable to? It's an interesting question. In our own minds, I think we have three major stakeholders that we are accountable to. We are responsible to the minister, in the sense that I am part of the portfolio of the Minister of Public Works. I present my annual report to the Minister of Public Works and within 15 days he tables that in Parliament. That's the law. So the responsibility is there.
In terms of accountability, we have suppliers and supplier associations, we have procurement officers in senior management departments, we have Canadians, through their elected representatives, and we have this committee in particular. We look to this committee to give us some sense of direction and we'll take note of their positions and your concerns. So really, we are accountable to a number of stakeholders.