Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here with the members of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to discuss Industry Canada's 2008-09 departmental performance report.
Although my deputy minister, Richard Dicerni, does apologize for not being here because he is appearing before the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on our main estimates right now, he will try to join us a little later in the meeting, because it is very important. He would like to be here if he can, so it is possible that we might see him around 10:30 this morning.
Before I begin, I would like to introduce the departmental official accompanying me, Ron Parker, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry Sector. He is available to answer questions as well.
The 2008-09 departmental performance report details Industry Canada's achievements and shortcomings against the objectives set out in the 2008-09 report on plans and priorities.
In the 2008-2009 report on plans and priorities, Industry Canada set commitments against three strategic outcomes, which are outlined in the report.
Changes to Treasury Board Secretariat's guidelines for the development of DPRs over the past few years have aligned themselves with the recommended five criteria for rating departmental performance reports as set out by the Office of the Auditor General.
Industry Canada's reporting has evolved along with Treasury Board Secretariat guidelines. In 2006-2007, Industry Canada's departmental performance report was over 150 pages long. So it was not very concise, and results information was in the infant stages. Since that time, the 2008-2009 departmental performance report has gone to a concise report of 40 pages with further information available online.
In developing the concise format for the DPR, Industry Canada has continued to evolve performance reporting by including more credible and reliable links to sources of information to demonstrate more balanced reporting and accountability, including additions of trends. The departmental performance report also links resources to results and details lessons learned.
Improvements continue to be made. This year, for the first time, Industry Canada's 2009-10 departmental performance report will include performance results that report against program targets. We'll also include more information against evaluation findings and the work the department has undertaken to address these findings. Finally, for more balance, we will include more lessons learned in the printed document.
In closing, I would like to thank the committee members for their time and interest in Industry Canada's 2008-09 departmental performance report. We welcome any comments and questions you may have.
Industry Canada continues to adapt and improve its reporting in an effort to better outline our performance results and demonstrate value for money.
At this point, I am pleased to answer any questions the committee may have. Thank you.