I'm going to start by letting you know where we are in terms of collective bargaining. Of course, you all know that what we pay our prosecutors is not up to me. It's a function of the Treasury Board to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. At the moment, we are going to binding conciliation with the Association of Justice Counsel. As an employer of lawyers, obviously I hope for good results and happy staff.
In terms of discrepancy, it's not across the board. There are variations among the various provincial prosecution services. There have been times when we have seen some exodus, in small pockets, to prosecution services elsewhere. We have also occasionally seen the reverse, where we have been easily able to recruit experienced prosecutors from provinces. There is a fair amount of exchange.
What I can do as a manager, given that I don't control things like the collective bargaining agreement, is make sure that we are offering the lawyers good work and that we are recognized as an employer of choice.
We've started to look at new recruitment methods, to brand the PPSC. One issue that some of you will know we've had is that we're 10 years old as an organization and there is still a lot of confusion between the Public Prosecution Service and Justice Canada. We've embarked on an exercise where we are trying to define ourselves and our work so that it is obvious to young people coming from law school, but also experienced lawyers from private practice and provincial prosecution services, and so that there is a real identity when they are coming to the PPSC.
It is not just how much you pay. I think some of it is being recognized as an employer of choice that provides good work, training opportunities, and a collegial environment to work in.