Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you for your invitation to appear before the committee on the issue of the management of intellectual property in the Government of Canada.
I can assure you that the Treasury Board Secretariat and Industry Canada are working together to address the report's recommendations. You have just heard about the joint actions we are taking to monitor the application of the policy governing intellectual property that arises under crown procurement contracts, and its evaluation.
I will focus my remarks today on the role of my office within the secretariat with respect to the Award Plan for Inventors and Innovators Policy, particularly in the context of recommendation 2.33.
Mr. Chair, we have provided you with an action plan, jointly developed with Industry Canada, addressing the two recommendations involving the secretariat. We both agree with the Auditor General's recommendations and have collaborated on our responses. We committed to working together, as well as with other federal organizations, as needed, and we have done so.
As we stated, we will ensure that accurate data is collected to support the planned evaluation of the policy on title to intellectual property arising under crown procurement contracts, and that our assessments of intellectual property policies are coordinated and comprehensively address common issues, including the effectiveness of awards.
Let me turn to the award plan for inventors and innovators policy. One of the ways the Government of Canada encourages invention and innovation in science and technology in the public service and motivates inventors and innovators to pursue the commercialization of their ideas is to give awards to inventors and innovators.
Deputy heads have the authority to give such awards through the Financial Administration Act, sections 12(1)(b) and 12(2)(b).
Further, any minister may authorize the payment of an award to a public servant inventor by virtue of section 10 of the Public Servants Inventions Act.
The Award Plan for Inventors and Innovators Policy was intended to support deputy heads in this activity by providing guidance on methods of calculating amounts of awards to be given to successful inventors and innovators.
As part of the secretariat's review of all management policies, we have begun consultations with the interdepartmental science and technology community to determine whether the award plan for inventors and innovators policy is achieving its intended purpose, or if there could be a better way.
Early indications are that the functional community could be better placed to establish guidelines in relation to awards. More specifically, the Federal Partners in Technology Transfer Assistant Deputy Minister Committee may be best positioned to lead the development of these guidelines. That committee's secretariat has begun a consultation process to evaluate the options, which will be presented to that committee for its decision.
We think the guidelines set by this group may be a more appropriate instrument to ensure a coherent approach across federal science-based departments and agencies. This approach would have the added benefit of ensuring that deputy heads have the flexibility they need to address the unique needs and situations of their own employees.
Thank you. Of course I'll be pleased to respond to any questions from the committee.