Evidence of meeting #85 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 support.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Chantal Maheu  Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office
Joe Friday  Commissioner, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
Wilma Vreeswijk  Deputy Minister and President, Canada School of Public Service
Kami Ramcharan  Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Jean-François Fleury  Vice-President, Learning Programs Branch, Canada School of Public Service
Éric Trottier  Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Ah, yes. I see.

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

There was one in Calgary and I was there.

In general, the agenda includes meetings with certain ministers, or people from the communities. There is a definite program.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Fine.

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

Since these meetings take place in different provinces, the participants are exposed to different realities, and meet with representatives from various organizations.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

That's good; I'm happy to hear it.

Aside from their related activities, what work do they do on the Youth Secretariat committee? What do they do, exactly, when they are sitting around the table with the Prime Minister?

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

The objective of the council is really to find out about young people's points of view on issues that matter to them. They discuss topics like employment, mental health, poverty among young people, which allows the Prime Minister to be more aware of young people's concerns.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Do they follow a set agenda, and if so do they take part in choosing the topics that will be raised?

If not, does the Prime Minister choose the topics that he would like to be advised on?

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

The agenda of the meetings is not part of my responsibilities, and so I cannot answer your question in a specific way. I know that there is an agenda, and that it is communicated to the young people prior to the meeting. We could however confirm to what extent they contribute to the agenda.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Very well. What is the age range of the participants?

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

I'm not sure. I can't find that information here.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Are they students or are some of them working?

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

Both; some are students and some are already working.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Are they remunerated in any way?

9:35 a.m.

Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office

Kami Ramcharan

They would be receiving some form of stipend or honoraria in order to participate, so it wouldn't be that they would just do this freely. They would be compensated for their time.

9:35 a.m.

Conservative

Alupa Clarke Conservative Beauport—Limoilou, QC

Fine. Outside of these meetings, do they have other duties?

For instance, if there is a three-month lapse between two meetings, are they asked to accomplish certain tasks in the meantime in order to be accountable?

9:35 a.m.

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Plans and Consultations, Privy Council Office

Chantal Maheu

Yes. They engage in certain activities between the meetings, and they determine their priorities themselves. Since the members of the group have varied interests, they may decide together to prioritize a particular topic, or to accomplish certain tasks and get involved in the community. Most of them in fact act as ambassadors in their school or their group.

9:35 a.m.

NDP

The Vice-Chair NDP Erin Weir

Thank you.

We're now going to go to Mr. Ayoub.

9:35 a.m.

Liberal

Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My questions are for Mr. Friday and concern the Office of the Commissioner.

Mr. Friday, you are getting ready for a quality assurance audit that will take place by June 2017. Could you remind us of the quality criteria that will be examined during this audit of the Office of the Commissioner?

9:35 a.m.

Commissioner, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada

Joe Friday

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'm happy to share with the members of the committee all of the details of our quality assurance project, even though it is an internal process.

This project is the outcome of an audit that was done by Deloitte & Touche in 2010, an audit that had been requested following an audit done by the Office of the Auditor General.

9:40 a.m.

Liberal

Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

Do you know the evaluation criteria?

9:40 a.m.

Commissioner, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada

Joe Friday

Yes. The objective of the audit is to ensure that each closed file is complete. It is an internal audit of case analyses or completed investigations. The purpose is to verify if all of the documents are in the file, and thus to see whether it is complete, and whether the decisions were entirely supported by the facts and the processes.

9:40 a.m.

Liberal

Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

You say that Deloitte & Touche are helping you, or are doing this audit for you?

9:40 a.m.

Commissioner, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada

Joe Friday

In 2010, the former commissioner...

9:40 a.m.

Liberal

Ramez Ayoub Liberal Thérèse-De Blainville, QC

He asked Deloitte & Touche to carry out the audit at that time?

9:40 a.m.

Commissioner, Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada