Mr. Chair and honourable members, thank you for the opportunity to appear before committee today.
I appear before you today as a public servant, having more than 20 years of experience in the federal public service, mostly in human resources management. Prior to joining the public service, I obtained an honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Ottawa, specializing in human resource management and management information systems. Later in my career, I obtained a master's certificate from Royal Roads University. I started my career up at Chalk River nuclear labs with Atomic Energy of Canada.
I'd like to start by sharing with you that it was a very proud time in my career when I joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. To have the opportunity to contribute to safe homes and safe communities, to know that in some small way I could contribute to the men and women on the front line who protect our citizens and be part of a proud tradition and a national icon, was a highlight in my career and a true honour.
My first day with the RCMP was August 27, 2001. I transferred from my position at Treasury Board Secretariat, chief information officer branch, to the RCMP's executive officer development and resourcing section. My role there was to design and implement a suite of leadership development programs, and I completed these tasks successfully.
In the late fall of 2003, I took on the role of acting director general of the organization renewal and effectiveness team, replacing Chief Superintendent Fraser Macaulay.
On or before September 11, 2003, and prior to my arrival in the acting director general role, 12 individuals had been identified to be declared surplus. One of these employees identified for surplus was Denise Revine, an individual for whom I had not had any line responsibility prior to taking on my new role. Due to funding pressures, the HR branch budget had a shortfall of $1.3 million for the fiscal year 2004-05, and some programs would simply not be funded. I consulted the public service staff relations adviser at the RCMP and implemented these budget decisions, ensuring due process was followed.
I was appointed by the Public Service Commission as an EX-2, director general, effective April 1, 2004. Around this time, I also assumed responsibility for the National Compensation Policy Centre, among other entities. This was as a result of a reorganization of the human resources team that was announced in February of 2004.
I understood my mandate concerning the National Compensation Policy Centre to be one of sustaining operations. The employees on this team were working very hard, but by the time I arrived, they had been without their director for several months. Part of my task was to restore morale and bring focus to their work.
While sustaining operations, I attended an insurance committee meeting that prompted me to ask several questions pertaining to the administration of the insurance program. I suspected a lack of management controls for our members' insurance program. On November 29, 2004, I requested an internal audit through our chief audit executive, with the concurrence of both the chair of the insurance committee and my superior, the chief human resources officer. Also, at the suggestion of the executive assistant to the chief human resources officer, I contacted an investigator on the criminal investigation, who, as I understood it, was working under the direction of an inspector of the Ottawa Police Service, to share my concerns about the insurance program.
In my role as director general, I created a management action plan that consisted of corrective actions to the insurance audit findings. The management action plan was supported by the RCMP audit committee, chaired by the commissioner. These corrective actions were implemented and subsequently reviewed by the Office of the Auditor General, as indicated in chapter 9 of the Report of the Auditor General, on RCMP pension and insurance administration, dated November 2006.
Also, as a result of the lessons learned from the audit and an A-base review, I created an organization design for the National Compensation Policy Centre based on current and future work requirements with increased management oversight and quality assurance elements.
While I do not presume to know the process or procedures that were undertaken in the criminal investigation and the subsequent RCMP internal investigation, I am confident that I exercised my responsibilities in the best interest of the Crown, underpinned by the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Service.
Thank you, Mr. Chair, honourable members.