Tony Clement

[Government Advertising, January 27th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, the responsibility of any government is to communicate with the population on the plans and priorities and policies that are actually passed by Parliament. It is our obligation and indeed our pleasure to do so. Of course, we want to inform Canadians about the great economic policies that are found each year in the budgets, and we will do so again I am sure.

However, the hon. member should look within his own house. Speaking of advertising, the New Democrats had hundreds of thousands of illegal advertising at their last convention. How about that? That is a violation of trust, I would say.

[Health, December 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, discussions are ongoing, but I can tell the House, it is a repeat of the language in the budget.

We are seeking fair and reasonable discussions with the public sector representatives of the various bargaining tables. We want to protect the taxpayer from loads that are not sustainable in terms of public sector salary costs, and we will continue to represent and protect the taxpayer.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2013-14, December 9th, 2013]

Mr. Chair, yes, the presentation of this bill is identical to that used during the previous supply period.

[Supplementary Estimates (B), 2013-14, December 9th, 2013]

moved:

That the Supplementary Estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014 be concurred in.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 6th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Standard on Web Usability came into effect on September 28, 2011, and was updated on March 31, 2013.

With regard to (b), the Standard on Web Usability is issued under the authority of section 7 of the Financial Administration Act by the Secretary of the Treasury Board, pursuant to subsection 6(4) of the Financial Administration Act and section 3.5 of the Policy on Management of Information Technology.

With regard to (c), the Standard on Web Usability was developed through an extensive review of existing studies and reports, including usability studies that had been conducted by various consulting firms on Government of Canada websites from 2002-2010; studies and reports from Wichita State University, Nielsen Norman Group, Usability.gov, A List Apart, Stanford University, and University of Washington; and a review of other jurisdictions’ websites.

With regard to (d), the results of the studies with regard to colour revealed that approximately 75% of them use blue or green as their primary colour.

With regard to (e), research conducted for the development of the Standard on Web Usability was not contracted out.

With regard to (f), the research was conducted using internal resources within existing budgets. The Standard on Web Usability was developed using internal resources within existing budgets.

With regard to (g) and (h), departments are required to implement the changes within existing resources. Departments are encouraged to implement changes at the same time as other updates.

[Government Contracts, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I have already said, our government treats taxpayers' money with the utmost respect. Sometimes it is necessary to call upon professional services for their expertise or to deal with unexpected fluctuations in workloads.

However, our public accounts confirm that the deficit is $6.9 billion lower than the 2013 estimates.

[Government Contracts, December 3rd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I am hoping even the hon. member and his caucus would agree that if we can deliver excellent services to Canadians, using, in some cases, external contractors, that is the smart thing to do for the taxpayer. It reduces our costs.

We have to do so in a way that, of course, ensures health and safety, but I think this is the kind of sensibility Canadians expect from their government.

[Privacy, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the whole point of social media is to have dialogue on public policy issues. That is why it is important to understand what people are thinking or saying about certain issues on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. My handle is @TonyclementCPC, if anyone wants notes. It is not a state secret.

The whole point of social media is to engage in a dialogue with citizens, and that means better public policies in the end.

[Privacy, December 2nd, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I think the hon. member is not a rookie when it comes to social media, so she would know anything posted on Facebook or Twitter is public information. In fact, most people are on Facebook or Twitter to be read, to be seen, to be part of the dialogue. We want to be there too.

[Government Accountability, November 29th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, the money the hon. member is speaking of was money that was allocated between 2001 and 2009 and was dedicated to combatting terrorism and making sure that Canadians were safe from terrorism, so it was money well spent.

He is absolutely correct, the Treasury Board did undertake a process to reconcile all of the money that was spent, $12.9 billion over that nine year period, and to ensure that this was accounted for. In fact, it was accounted for.

In terms of his question, I would only say that we now have online budget accounts, by department, by program, available to parliamentarians and available to citizens.