Public Accounts committee  Ten seconds. The school now matches the requirements that deputy heads have; therefore, it is demand driven.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, we do not rank people in the pools now. So if you have 10 people, they are ranked equally.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. We did not necessarily create performance indicators that are directly linked to the Public Service Modernization Act or to all the elements of the legislation. However, we have performance indicators for a wide range of elements, so that we can have a good idea of how the public service is performing.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. A couple of elements. For example, when pools used to be established—and a pool is essentially a group of people who qualify for a set of positions or a generic position—the requirements under the previous legislation and policies were that people were ranked.

Public Accounts committee  If I may, Mr. Chair, I'll start off, and then I'll ask Ms. Cartwright to fill in, because she has been talking to folks about those very issues. Just on the labour relations side, I would say that we have noted the challenges in populating--if I can put it that way--both sides of the table, for labour and management.

Public Accounts committee  The labour-management consultation committees have been established in all organizations. I believe one is still in the process of setting it up. I can verify that and get back to you. But my understanding is that they each have one in place. On the comment about the participation, it was one of the comments the Auditor General picked up from some of the bargaining agents.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, I would like a clarification, because I do not know what study is being referred to. The study of the Public Service Commission was done over a period of time, and the Secretariat of the Treasury Board supported the commission's work to the extend that we had the data and the information to do so.

Public Accounts committee  I am not aware of this, I did not follow Ms. Barrados' testimony. Thus I cannot necessarily give any answers regarding the statements she put forward.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for the question. We have noted and we agree with the issues with regard to the timing, if I can put it this way, of the tabling of the annual report to Parliament on people management. One of the major reasons for the delays, frankly, has been a lot of organizational changes, both in the creation initially of the public service agency and, more recently, in the integration and elimination of the agency and reintegration back into the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, they are. They're on track to be released. These are obligations to report by a certain timeframe before Parliament. The annual report on people management--we are trying to get back on track within a more reasonable timeframe, and we have put in the systems to do so.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, the employee innovation program is being piloted. I believe it's seven organizations--the Treasury Board Secretariat is one of the seven--and we have received as an organization, I believe, about 21 proposals. Each department and organization will be receiving its own, so we do not receive centrally the proposals for each one of the departments.

Public Accounts committee  There are two aspects, I would say. Yes, it did go up for the time of the transition period, and it is now starting to go down, albeit marginally, I would say, but it is decreasing. Frankly, I would say the biggest change around this has been the division of roles and responsibilities, if I can put it that way, between human resource practitioners and managers, ensuring that managers become comfortable with the flexibilities that are embedded in the legislation and to ensure that the due process is also followed.

Public Accounts committee  The legislation came into force at various periods. On the PSEA, the Public Service Employment Act, its fifth year actually comes to an end in December 2010, so we have started the process of review in order to be able to meet the timing, because the various pieces of legislation came into force at different times.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for the invitation to come here today. Let me, if I may, offer my congratulations on your chairmanship. With me today, as indicated, are Susan Cartwright, who is leading the legislative review of the Public Service Modernization Act as the senior adviser to the Privy Council Office, and Mr.

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, I have a copy with me.