Madam Chairman, ethical behaviour is a topic that should be treated seriously and it is important to every member of the House. It certainly is to me. I am very pleased that my department has very recently been recognized by the Conference Board of Canada as a leading edge organization for its explicit ethics program. In my early briefings by departmental officials last week that was one of the programs that was drawn to my attention. I am very glad that the department does have that very explicit program.
As the question was being asked, someone called out from somewhere in the House and said that that may be what the conference board thought but what did the auditor general think. The auditor general has described the ethics program of Public Works and Government Services Canada as very sophisticated.
The ethics program is intended to provide a framework to guide and improve the ethical conduct of employees by promoting awareness, leadership, decision making and action in the field of investigation. It is important to concede where there are areas of difficulty and to pursue the solutions to those difficulties aggressively.
As I said earlier this evening, my department in a typical year does something in the order of $4 billion of business on behalf of Canadians. The complaints that have been raised over the last number of weeks and months have related to one particular program that involves a budget of about $40 million. That is $40 million on an expenditure base of $4 billion. That is 1% and I think it is important to keep things in proportion.
Having said that, let me make it clear that whether the issue is big dollars or small dollars, every penny counts and it is very important for high ethical standards to apply whether it is a big contract or a little contract, a big issue or a little issue. We must all bear in mind the ethical principles that should guide us.
I am very pleased that my department has a formal policy with respect to this matter and that it has been recognized both internally and externally for the efforts that it is making. I certainly intend to advance that cause within my department and to build upon the ethics foundation that is there.