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.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Ms. Ramcharan, there's $3.3 million mentioned for operational support, with $400,000 mentioned for the e-cabinet initiative. Can you give me a breakdown? In estimates last year, we heard ridiculous numbers to support the Prime Minister's web presence. I think it was $600,000 for a website, with 24-hour staff to maintain his website just in case he needs a selfie post at one in the morning.
Is this additional money? Is this continual money? What is it exactly?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Thank you, Chair.
The $3.3 million comprises a couple of things. It's money that we would have talked about in our estimates last year. It's not new money that we're getting. It's money that's continuing from the increase that we would have received last year.
It relates to three main areas. One is our public opinion research, at roughly $2 million. That's not for people. That's just to go out.... What we've found with doing the public opinion research is that it gets us much more effective in terms of the ongoing stuff, and we make it available—
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
On this research, who's deciding what topics to go out and poll on?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
We look at topics that would be—
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Who...? It would be related to our assistant secretary for communications, who would work in conjunction within the department, as well as within our Prime Minister's Office.
We also have $1.2 million, which was specifically resources put in to help support the people to do the posting on the web, to do the 24-hour support, and to improve the overall web presence.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Let's just stick with that $1.2 million. You're saying that it's support for the existing website. How many people does that involve?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
How many people does it involve? Just give me one second.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Also, what exactly are they working on besides the PM's website?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
In budget 2016, which is included in our mains, we received an additional eight people in terms of supporting the Prime Minister. Their functions—
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Supporting the overall communications functions, to help support—
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Those would include publishing requirements for the website. The volume of publishing has increased significantly with regard to that. It would include the complete overhaul of the website, as well as making—
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
Yes, but the whole thing is that we still have to continue to make sure.... Technology, once it's put in, doesn't stay static. You have to make sure it's patched, maintained, and upgraded. There would be a component that would always be involved in making sure of the robustness of the website. It will be in terms of making sure that we do our posts on social media. We use Facebook and Twitter, those types of accounts, in terms of publishing new things.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
So it's eight people and $1.2 million for his Twitter, the PM's site, and his Facebook site?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
It wouldn't be just for the Prime Minister. It would be for the overall communications functions we have within PCO. It supports a number of things as well. It will include the clerk as well.
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
We have $1.2 million for that. Where's the rest of the money, please?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
As I said, we have $2 million for public opinion research, $1.2 million for digital by default, which is the new approach we're taking for communications, and roughly about $100,000 to support—
10:05 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
Thank you.
On the $4.5 million for space modernization, we saw that last year as well, and I think previously. Is this a new $4.5 million every year? What exactly are we doing for space modernization?
10:05 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Corporate Services, Privy Council Office
We had a significant increase in resources in the Privy Council Office due to budget 2016, so we had to look at our existing space, which had not been modernized for a number of years. The government standard right now is moving to a Web 2.0 type of standard.
It was resources to start and to continue to help us look at our floor plan, and to update it to make it more modern and more mobile for the individuals who work at the Privy Council.
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
Kelly McCauley Conservative Edmonton West, AB
We saw this money spent last year as well. This will be $4.5 million of new money. Will we see this continue every year, with more and more money put in for modernization?
