I could make a suggestion on that.
I think Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has a problem, but the secretary of the Treasury Board has been in for about two and a half years on average over the last 30 years, and the same is true for the Clerk of the Privy Council. We have real problems, I think, at that level, and that's why I used that not very complimentary expression of a seagull-mission deputy minister.
It's different in other Commonwealth countries. In Australia, there's a standard five-year expectation of service. My memory is there's some restriction on how they can be removed in that period. Even if they're shifting to another department, it has to be done through some approval of the legislature, but I'd have to check on that. In Britain, deputy ministerial equivalent positions are usually the last ones civil servants hold. They're usually for five to six years.
I would think that if Parliament could insist--and you could do this through a motion and then just follow up on it in Parliament--on a formal requirement that deputy ministers serve for five years, and that Parliament be notified and formal reasons given for anything shorter than that, then you'd be on the right track.
I think you're absolutely right: I don't believe we can have responsibility and accountability in a serious way until the very senior people--the accounting officers, as they're listed--stay there long enough to live with the consequences of their decisions. I share your concerns.