Evidence of meeting #180 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was departments.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Bill Matthews  Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Les Linklater  Associate Deputy Minister, Human Resources-to-Pay Stabilization, Department of Public Works and Government Services
André Fillion  Assistant Deputy Minister, Defence and Marine Procurement, Acquisitions Program, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Michael Vandergrift  Associate Deputy Minister, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Glenn Purves  Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat
Karen Cahill  Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat
Baxter Williams  Executive Director, Employment Conditions and Labour Relations, Treasury Board Secretariat
Jacquie Manchevsky  Corporate Secretary, Next Generation HR and Pay Team, Treasury Board Secretariat

5:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

—so if you could provide a narrative in your answer, through the clerk, to Mr. Blaikie's direct question, that would be much appreciated.

5:15 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

Sure. I'd be very happy to answer it.

5:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

Thank you very much.

Finally, we will go to Madam Yip.

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

Thanks for coming.

An amount of $300,000 is allocated for advancing gender equality. How is that funding being spent?

5:15 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

That's correct. In December the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act passed. Under that act, there's a requirement for the Minister of Finance to look at incremental measures and to do GBA+ assessments. A gender budgeting document accompanied the last budget, and it did these kinds of assessments. Under that act, there's a requirement for the President of the Treasury Board to look at, for lack of a better word, the “stock” of spending—existing spending—and to do an ex post assessment of GBA+ of government programming. That funding will be used to help support that initiative on an ongoing basis.

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

So, collecting data—

5:15 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

Collecting—

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

—ensuring accountability—

5:15 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

Collecting data, and the addition of an extra FTE. It will work towards trying to get better administrative-level data from programs, and working with other departments to ensure that better administrative-level data is able to sync with StatsCan data in a way that will allow better data to come from these programs.

The intention is to do this on an ongoing annual basis, and looking at our existing reporting structure—like on the departmental results reports and so forth—to see how we can integrate that information better. That funding is going towards annual costs for Treasury Board to implement the requirements under the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act.

5:15 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

That requires hiring people to do that?

5:15 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

It will be an extra FTE, but also—

5:20 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

FTE is...?

5:20 p.m.

Assistant Secretary, Expenditure Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Glenn Purves

Full-time equivalent, so an extra person. It will also go towards whatever data implementation is necessary for doing that.

There are certain data activities that will be required, and working with the departmental community—possibly consultations and so forth—and so those funds will be used to defray the costs of those initiatives.

5:20 p.m.

Liberal

Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON

In your departmental plan, it says that the TBS plans to increase diversity at the executive levels of the federal public service. What initiatives will the TBS put in place to increase diversity?

5:20 p.m.

Assistant Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat

Karen Cahill

First of all, I'd like to say that currently, for the number of EXs from minority groups, we are over and above the workforce availability. That's for executive groups.

The percentage of executive employees who are aboriginal persons, however, is below the workforce availability. We will try to increase the overall representation of aboriginal persons through targeted recruitment programs. We will also address potential barriers to career advancement and work with departments to accommodate second language training. To be an executive you have to be able to speak both languages. Those are a few of measures we will take to meet the need for indigenous public servants.

I don't know, Sandra, if you want to add to that, but it's what we're planning to do.

We're also looking at different ways of increasing the accessibility of our building through the tools we offer the employees.

5:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

Thank you very much.

Colleagues, since this is our last meeting of this Parliament, I wish all of you a very good and, hopefully, productive summer.

Since we're all partisans around this table, it would be completely disingenuous of me to say I hope to see all of you back here again.

5:20 p.m.

Some hon. members

Oh, oh!

5:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Tom Lukiwski

However, in all honesty and all sincerity, I do wish all of you the best of luck in the upcoming campaigns. I hope you really do have a good summer.

Mr. Purves, to you and your officials, thank you once again for being here. I do hope to see you and your officials back here the next time we sit. Once again, I hope all of you have a very successful and productive summer.

Colleagues, we are adjourned.