Lucienne Robillard

[Former Privacy Commissioner, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, let us be a little more careful about what the Auditor General actually said. I have quoted her exact words, from her report and from the other statements she has made.

At the moment, we are on entirely new ground. The Auditor General is auditing another officer of Parliament, which raises questions of accountability and oversight of officers of Parliament. It is very clear that I will work with the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates and with the officers of Parliament to put a new system in place.

[Former Privacy Commissioner, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I never thought I would see the day that I would have to set the member for Roberval straight about the structure of the Parliament of Canada, but I will have to do so.

The Privacy Commissioner is a senior officer of Parliament. The Public Service Commission does not report to the President of the Treasury Board, but directly to Parliament. That is why members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates have started to review the spending of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. That is why they have also started to question the Public Service Commission. That is exactly what should be done. We are in a situation—

[Former Privacy Commissioner, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, why does the member for St. Albert not know that the Public Service Commission does not report to me? The Public Service Commission reports to parliamentarians. I think that parliamentarians through the government operations committee play a very important role here. We should thank all the members of that committee who have raised issues. This is an issue for all parliamentarians.

[Former Privacy Commissioner, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the member for St. Albert should stop saying there is corruption in all government and follow the advice of the Auditor General. Let me quote what she has said:

While the behaviour of the former Privacy Commissioner and some executives was clearly unacceptable in this case, it is by no means the norm. Using this case to tarnish the reputation of the staff of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and the entire federal public service would be unfair--

That is what he is doing.

[Former Privacy Commissioner, September 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, we are following a step-by-step approach to protect whistleblowers who signal wrongdoing in the public service.

Two years ago, a policy was issued, and a Public Service Integrity Officer was appointed and asked to table a report to Parliament, which he did 15 days ago.

We welcome the recommendations in this report, and a working group will issue its final recommendations in January 2004 on this matter. Parliamentarians will have the opportunity to provide government with their own recommendations.

[Psychological Harassment, September 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, in the Public Service of Canada, we have a policy of prevention, a policy against harassment. Following a survey of public service employees, we have had to revise that policy.

Now, along with bargaining agents and union representatives, we have embarked on a period of training and raising awareness, all across the public service, in order to reach the goal of completely eradicating harassment in the Public Service of Canada.

[Liberal Government, September 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, with all due respect that I have for my colleagues from all parties on the government operations committee, their approach differs from the approach of the member for St. Albert completely. They make a judgment based on fact and not on rumours or anything else. I would encourage the member for St. Albert to follow the example of his colleagues on the government operations committee and not use those kinds of words as that is very bad for the credibility of everyone in this country, including Parliament.

[Liberal Government, September 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as is his wont, the hon. member for St. Albert is greatly exaggerating, particularly in terms of his choice of words. This destroys any credibility, including that of parliamentarians.

The Public Service Commission reports directly to Parliament, as does the Privacy Commissioner, an officer of Parliament. Therefore, I think that my hon. colleagues from the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates will carry out the appropriate follow-up to these reports, which have now been tabled.

[Liberal Government, September 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to hold two positions at the same time; on the one hand, demanding that controls within the government be strengthened, and on the other, being shocked when one discovers activities that should not have happened.

When we strengthen all the modern control functions in the Government of Canada, when we strengthen all internal audit policies, and when we now have better information provided by internal auditors, it is absolutely normal to do so transparently, so that all members of Parliament will be up to date on—

[Liberal Government, September 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely normal that regular reminders are made about the standards expected of the government and its political staff, especially since there now is a formal, official code of values and ethics that everyone must respect.

Thus, it is normal for executive assistants or deputy ministers to remind their staff that they must always act in the public interest.