Procedure and House Affairs committee  It is a practice for ministers to convey their decisions to the department, and they do use different means. You can write “do not agree”, strike it across, as you said, “no, do not agree”, initial it, and date it. It would not be, in my view, a good practice to just send a document back.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Sorry, Chair, I am trying to answer the question.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Chair and member, I don't actually know the exact number of proposals that the agency receives every year. With respect to Canadian non-governmental organizations, there are over 500 or 600 in Canada with whom CIDA has had a relationship. So that would be a base number for this particular program.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As I've said previously, my recommendation to the minister on this issue before us was clear. The decision from the minister back to the department on this issue was also clear.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It's important, as the deputy, to make sure that I understand what the minister's decision was. The best practice—and I think the minister would agree to this—would be to have ”do not agree” written below the signature line. That would be clearer. However, the minister's decision in this regard on this issue was never in doubt or confusing for me.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Chair, as the deputy head, what's important from an accountability point of view is that the analysis and advice coming from the department to the minister is clear and that it goes to the minister. Secondly, it's important that the decision and the direction from the minister to the department is clear.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Mr. Chair, I don't think my opinions are what matters—

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I can speak to my own understanding, which was that the minister's decision to me was quite clear, sir.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The minister's decision was very clear to me and to my department.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Chair, as I stated on December 9 at the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, it was quite normal for recommendations to go to a minister and for a negative decision to be returned to the department. That was understood to be consistent with the practice of government. The second point would be that I have now been made aware that there were some other examples of when the minister's decision not to agree with the department's recommendation was conveyed in the same manner.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Once the minister makes a decision, it is the decision of the agency, yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Official Languages committee  I'm not sure, actually; I don't know that there are minutes. There are certainly not minutes taken at deputy ministers' breakfasts. Are you asking whether they are reported out in both official languages?

Official Languages committee  We had a very interesting meeting with Graham Fraser at the clerk's deputy ministers' weekly meeting. The issue of official languages was also discussed at the public service advisory committee and the Public Service Commission advisory committee. It is something that's also taken up in the public service renewal deputy ministers committee.

Official Languages committee  Do you mean their minutes?