Thank you, Mr. Chair, and good morning, committee members.
Thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee today to discuss the Auditor General's chapter on safeguarding government information and assets in contracting.
In chapter 1 of her 2007 report, the Auditor General makes several recommendations aimed at the Treasury Board Secretariat. We have taken action to address those concerns through our review of all management policies, known as “policy suite renewal”. My remarks today will highlight the progress we are making in this matter.
As part of policy suite renewal, the policy, standards, and guidelines on government security are currently under review, which should be competed before the end of this year. We are addressing the Auditor General's recommendations under three overarching themes.
Firstly, the new government security policy will clarify the requirements under the standard on security in contracting. This will ensure that the project authorities who originate the contracts will be the ones who certify the security requirements needed. By putting the burden of certifying the security requirements on the originator versus the contracting authority, we will increase the accountability of the group requesting the service, which has better knowledge of the specific security requirements.
Secondly, responding to another important recommendation of the Auditor General, the Treasury Board Secretariat will also require that departmental security officers implement quality assurance procedures. These procedures will be put into force by all departments and agencies and will provide for the ongoing review of contract files to ensure that they meet industrial security requirements.
Thirdly, through the renewed government security policy, standards, and guidelines, the Treasury Board Secretariat will ensure that deputy ministers have the information they need to satisfy themselves that they are fulfilling their accountabilities under the policy. Furthermore, the Treasury Board Secretariat has added an indicator under MAF, the management accountability framework, to assess the compliance of departments and agencies with security requirements.
The management accountability framework now provides for the assessment of departments' performance and effectiveness in safeguarding information, assets, and employees, as well as in ensuring the continued availability of critical services. We will assess key policy elements and ensure that security programs and systems of coordination are in place across government and that they are being administered effectively.
As we move forward in developing our new policy and standards, we are working closely with institutions to clarify requirements and guarantee that sound management practices for safeguarding government information and assets in contracting are in place.
This concludes my remarks. At this time, I would be pleased to answer questions that the committee has.