Madam Speaker, I am pleased to answer the question of the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra. I am glad she asked for an adjournment debate on this subject. Allow me to provide some context for the House.
In 2010, Public Works and Government Services Canada was one of 13 departments that underwent a strategic review, the results of which are reflected in budget 2011.
In accordance with the requirements of the strategic review, all departmental activities were reviewed against established criteria. Included in these criteria were assessments of the federal role, relevance and efficiency of activities. The conclusions and recommendations of PWGSC's strategic review were subject to independent review and validation.
Over a period of several months, the department collected and analyzed information related to all of PWGSC's activities. This information was used to develop proposals based on the government’s priorities and to meet the savings targets identified for PWGSC under three main themes: eliminating duplication and overlap across programs and services; enhancing efficiency of our operations through innovation and continuous improvement; focusing on our core mandate and leveraging the expertise of the private sector.
To this end, PWGSC put forward proposals on the basis of these criteria and themes, with a view to achieving savings of $98.6 million by 2013-14, as well as further savings in future years.
These were approved by the minister and the Treasury Board and were included in budget 2011.
I also want to inform the member opposite that throughout this entire process, PWGSC fully considered the impact of its proposals on businesses and regional operations, and will also follow a phased approach in implementing these proposals.
Furthermore, PWGSC's strategic review proposals also fully considered the impact on human resources.
Across PWGSC, 687 positions will be eliminated, including 556 in the national capital region and 131 in the regions over the next three years. We are a department of over 14,000 employees.
Given our rate of attrition and the departure of approximately 1,000 employees each year, we anticipate minimal loss of employment.
The department has a comprehensive human resources management strategy in place to care for all affected employees, including all employees of Audit Services Canada.
I would like to respond to the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra's concern about Audit Services Canada.
After significant analysis and due consideration, the decision was made to wind down the operations of Audit Services Canada, which provides optional audit services to other government departments and agencies on a cost-for-fee basis.
The wind-down of Audit Services Canada will not detract from the core capability of the government to conduct internal audits, including PWGSC's internal audit capacity.
PWGSC's internal audit and evaluation group is completely separate from Audit Services Canada, and over the last five years, the number of employees within this group has increased significantly.
PWGSC will continue to provide strong oversight on all of its programs and activities. PWGSC, along with all government organizations, has augmented its internal audit and evaluation capacity in recent years.
Indeed, PWGSC's internal audit and evaluation function has received the highest possible assessment for the last two years by the Treasury Board Secretariat.