Lucienne Robillard

[Supplementary Estimates (A), October 28th, 2003]

moved:

That Vote 35a, in the amount of $21,495,721, under SOLICITOR GENERAL—Royal Canadian Mounted Police—Operating expenditures, in the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, be concurred in.

[Supplementary Estimates (A), October 28th, 2003]

moved:

Motion No. 2

That Vote 8a, in the amount of $1, under SOLICITOR GENERAL—Canadian Firearms Centre—Contributions, in the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, be concurred in.

[Supplementary Estimates (A), October 28th, 2003]

moved:

That Vote 7a, in the amount of $10,000,000, under SOLICITOR GENERAL—Canadian Firearms Centre—Operating expenditures, in the Supplementary Estimates (A) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, be concurred in.

[Ethics, October 28th, 2003]

No, Mr. Speaker.

[Foundations, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Canadians can see the results every day, whether from the Canada Foundation for Innovation or the millennium scholarships, which help hundreds and hundreds of Canadian students, or Genome Canada, which supports research in the field of genomics. All of these grants for research are important for the whole country and most Canadians will benefit from them.

[Foundations, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, once again, with respect to most of the foundations—the largest ones, such as the Canada Foundation for Innovation, were even created by legislation—the benefits and assistance provided to researchers across the country are visible. I think most hon. members realize clearly the positive impact they can have.

That said, at any time we can ask the representatives, the heads of the foundations, as well as the responsible minister, to appear before parliamentary committees and to answer questions concerning their foundation.

[Foundations, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I will not comment on leaks relating to an incomplete report that has yet to be tabled in the House.

That said, some foundations were established by statute. Therefore, Parliament approved the establishment of the majority, over 80% of all amounts allocated to the foundations. Each board is responsible for appointing an auditor, and each audit is submitted to the minister who must report directly to Parliament. Therefore, parliamentarians have an opportunity to ask questions relating to the different foundations.

[Foundations, October 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, foundations are directly accountable to Parliament through the ministers, in the usual manner, by means of reports which are tabled in Parliament by each of the departments.

With regard to the funding agreements reached with each foundation, it is possible to require evaluation and compliance reports. The annual reports of foundations established by statute are tabled directly in the House. Parliamentarians, therefore, have all the necessary tools at their disposal.

[Public Service, October 6th, 2003]

Yes, Mr. Speaker, we need greater transparency. No one argues with that.

However if people look at the recent developments we have had I think they should be satisfied with what we have done.

Right now we are working with parliamentarians to improve the reporting mechanisms to Parliament on the plans and priorities of each department and the results they have achieved.

On the estimates process I can tell the House that we are committed to having greater transparency.

[Public Service, October 6th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, everyone knows that modernizing management practices is an ongoing exercise. I think that when we look at the last 10 years there have been a lot of successes, and if we look at the citizen satisfaction level right now, I have to say it is increasing every day. Having said that, I am not saying that there is no place for improvement. There is always place for improvement in our system. We will do so.