Government Operations committee  Very confidentially.

Government Operations committee  We can't pursue it under the act.

Government Operations committee  One specific issue was brought to our attention very early on. I made it a practice to ask that whenever there's an allegation or even a suggestion of reprisal, I and my office be advised immediately, for the very good reason that, number one, this is core to the legislation--this even goes to the title of the legislation, the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act--but more importantly, we have a very tight deadline of 15 days from the time, prima facie, to decide whether an investigation should be launched.

Government Operations committee  Those are quite legitimate questions, and I am pleased to answer them. First of all, the budget is very important. I am going to report on how the money is used and make sure Canadians get good value for money. We do not want to compete with other specialized bodies. We want to make sure that our mandate is clear and that people know what we are and what we are not.

Government Operations committee  Unfortunately, I do not know all the details, so it would be inappropriate for me to say. I am talking about general principles. Once again, we will be pleased to examine the situation once we have more detailed information.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, I will be pleased to do so. I would not want to mislead the committee. To date we have not intervened in a case of wrongdoing. There have been concerns in this regard but the fact remains that, had it been a case of wrongdoing, I would have to make a report to Parliament within 60 days.

Government Operations committee  We deal with that very specific question in the annual report. This is a very good one. In fact, we don't. We cannot accept anonymous complaints, because then we can't verify the good faith issue. However, we will offer the information to the chief executive where the complaint might have originated.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much. Those are very good questions indeed.

Government Operations committee  On the accountability front, in terms of what I thought might be needed immediately, first I had an outside party come and look at our financial controls. Whether we're talking about $1 million or $100 million, I wanted to make sure we had the financial controls. I also set up a governance structure, including an executive committee, a committee of operations, and a case management committee, to deal specifically with the issue of case management, performance indicators, and looking at the system.

Government Operations committee  My very first week in office I phoned the Auditor General. I have met with her on a few occasions to ensure that our mandates are clear and that there is no duplication and also to determine if she could provide us with her expertise in complex cases. In the end, what we want to do is to deal quickly with a complaint by using the best available resources and expertise and to find a solution, no matter the issue.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. These are very important questions. I took office about nine months ago. All the information required by the Act will be in the report, which is absolutely vital. With regard to analysis, I would like to say at this point that we will develop better tools.

Government Operations committee  In fact, I have to say that the vast majority, when they were rejected, simply had nothing to do with our mandate. There is really a lot of confusion, as I indicated, between public interest and private interest, hence the importance of clarifying our role, and we will continue to do that.

Government Operations committee  We're still doing the analysis, but only a very small percentage come from the general public. It's very small--I'm guessing 1% or 2%--but we will be happy to take a closer look at it.

Government Operations committee  The member is quite right, but I would also like to highlight the role of the Canada Public Service Agency with respect to disseminating information to clarify the role. Roles were also given specifically to chief executives of each department to set up their own systems. As well, in each organization senior officers need to be designated to receive the complaints.

Government Operations committee  First, I must tell you that you are presenting me with a great challenge. Many experts have attempted to define the public interest, including experts at the United Nations, which has similar mandates. The public interest can be defined in several ways. It can come into play, for example, when an issue arises and prevents us from carrying out our mandate.