Government Operations committee  Absolutely. I've hired a critical mass of employees. It's a small group. The full salary budget would allow for about 12 or 13 employees. We are six at the moment. Whether you have one case or you have ten, you do need a minimum critical mass. I have these people in place. We have hearing rooms available to us.

Government Operations committee  No, I'm not. Again, we're a completely separate and independent organization with a different mandate. There are some similarities in terms of the scope, if you like, or the types of issues that would be looked at by the two organizations, but really, the tribunal is there to hear cases of reprisal, and reprisal specifically as a result of having come forward in the--

Government Operations committee  No, am I mistaken, Jean-Charles? That is not provided for in the legislation.

Government Operations committee  I understand your question very well. First of all, whistleblowing comes under the jurisdiction of Ms. Christiane Ouimet, the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner. If an employee had concerns about actions taken by a senior official...

Government Operations committee  No, I'm very clear about the nature of my mandate. I can explain, once again, the role played by Ms. Sylvestre. A tribunal was...

Government Operations committee  That's right. So, if an employee had some concerns about the activities of a senior official, he would have two options. Every department has a senior officer who has been appointed by the deputy minister for the very purpose of receiving complaints from employees. The employee could, first of all, go to this individual.

Government Operations committee  The legislation is much broader than it used to be. Jean-Charles may wish to elaborate.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. First of all, you mentioned a former system, the one under the previous commissioner, Mr. Keyserlingk, and the reports that he tabled in the House. You are right to say that there were very few complaints. This is one of the reasons which prompted the government to create a new system.

Government Operations committee  I apologize, I should have clarified that Ms. Sylvestre is accompanying me today because I still have not received a budget and the Public Service Agency is helping me out. Moreover, I negotiated an agreement with the agency in order to purchase all of their corporate services, including financial services.

Government Operations committee  Exactly. Ms. Sylvestre and her staff look after my budget and my financial statements for the time being.

Government Operations committee  The four judges, the chairman and the three members, are from the Federal Court of Canada. The chairman is Judge Pierre Blais. The tribunal also includes Judge Snider, Judge Mosley and, finally, Justice Luc Martineau. These people are all judges with the Federal Court of Canada.

Government Operations committee  There is no limit. That depends on the number of cases referred to the tribunal. As I mentioned in my opening statement, the requests are tabled by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner, Ms. Christiane Ouimet. She receives the complaints directly from the public servants and she conducts an inquiry.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, page 5 of the presentation distributed to you today states that employees, public servants and former public servants from all departments and other sectors of public administration, crown corporations and other public agencies, can file a complaint with the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure, in my capacity as the Registrar of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal, to meet with the members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. With me are Ms. Ginette Sylvestre and Ms.