Evidence of meeting #42 for Public Accounts in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was initiatives.

A video is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Michael Ferguson  Auditor General of Canada, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Malcolm Brown  Deputy Minister, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
John Ossowski  President, Canada Border Services Agency
Commissioner Gilles Michaud  Deputy Commissioner, Federal Policing , Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Martin Dompierre  Principal, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Martin Bolduc  Vice-President, Programs Branch, Canada Border Services Agency

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON

What are the IT investment costs for a business?

5:05 p.m.

President, Canada Border Services Agency

John Ossowski

I don't have that information.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON

So you have no idea what a business would have to invest to be part of the program?

5:05 p.m.

President, Canada Border Services Agency

John Ossowski

Do you have anything more to—

5:05 p.m.

Vice-President, Programs Branch, Canada Border Services Agency

Martin Bolduc

If I may.... Again, it's very difficult to get a precise number. I answered a similar question. It depends on the IT infrastructure of the companies, but the feedback we got is that the potential savings for them made the investment worthwhile from their perspective.

I have been at the CBSA for 28 years—there's a ton of paper, I can tell you that. They see moving away from managing paper and leveraging the IT infrastructure as a big benefit, as well as expediting cargo at the border.

5:05 p.m.

Conservative

Phil McColeman Conservative Brantford—Brant, ON

It would seem to me that if I were a business person, I would do the evaluation of what the costs were versus whether it was worth doing. If you're going to be setting out your performance standards based on how business-friendly this is, if I can use that term, you may want to drill down and find out the kind of investments that small-, medium-, and large-scale users of the program have to make going forward.

One of my notes to self has been, as Mr. Christopherson said, to ask you on a return visit how the percentage increase has gone from 1% usage today—if that's the number that's appropriate today because maybe it's grown since this report was done—to a much larger percentage as a result of the Auditor General's work here.

In that regard, as well, I might as well put on the table that one of the things I'll be interested in as a follow-up is what your performance standards are, what you've developed. What the Auditor General has given you is a clear indication that those things must be developed. As you go forward with that, I'll be very interested in hearing back, either, Madam Chair, through you, to receive the report of the witnesses today, or to have them back to present the report, to present the results going forward. Really, our work as a committee, in my view, and I believe in the view of a lot of the members around the table, is to do thorough and due diligence in our jobs of making sure that when the Auditor General does give you these things, they are executed and do change business behaviour or cultural behaviour in your organizations, leading to better service for Canadians. I think that's our job.

I'll end it with that, Madam Chair, and yield my time to another member.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Vice-Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

Thank you. I think that's it. Does anybody else want—

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

We don't have Transport Canada with us.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Vice-Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

That'll be on Wednesday.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle, QC

Okay.

5:10 p.m.

Liberal

The Vice-Chair (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès) Liberal Alexandra Mendes

If I may, I would just like to thank you all for your presence today.

I think we all agree. It is very clear from our conversations, in the wake of the report produced last fall by the Auditor General, that the services provided to Canadians are our primary concern. Indeed, one day we will be judged on the basis of what we will have delivered as elected representatives. That is why that we would like to see you again, in order to determine what progress has been made.

I thank you for offering to submit all of that documentation. This will allow us to continue our review.

Thank you so very much, and we'll see you on Wednesday.

The meeting is adjourned.