Public Accounts committee  I can't confirm that directly, but I believe that Mr. Blais or—

Public Accounts committee  There are a couple of different things. We do very much appreciate the review from the Auditor General, pointing us to the need to re-evaluate thresholds and make sure those thresholds are appropriate. It is not necessarily that digital advertising is cheaper. Digital advertising

Public Accounts committee  I think the policy is relatively recent, and I don't know, Ms. Acton, if we have that information at our fingertips right now.

Public Accounts committee  I just have a very quick intervention, out of an abundance of clarity. The complaints process that we're talking about now dates back to 2020. There was a reference to the earlier period. It would not apply for the earlier period. Thank you.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, I'm here.

Public Accounts committee  I very much appreciate this line of questioning. I am sensitive to the issues being raised at this committee. The external review is designed to make sure that ads are fully consistent with the criteria. When Treasury Board undertook, in response to the auditor's request, a full

Public Accounts committee  There are a couple of different ways. As raised earlier in the conversation, departments proposing the advertising, even if it's under $250,000, could still submit that advertising to the external review if it was a particularly sensitive topic.

Public Accounts committee  I appreciate the question. We should recall through all of this that this is a backstop, that there is an obligation on public servants to not undertake partisan advertising and that campaigns should never be partisan in any way. What we have established is not only an existing

Public Accounts committee  Yes.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you.

Public Accounts committee  I very much appreciate the question. I'll walk through part of it and then ask Ms. Acton to supplement. You are correct in that creeping in of partisanship could be fairly subtle; it could be very much in the eyes of the beholder. I think, as a practical matter, a Canadian would

Public Accounts committee  The policy was established in 2016.

Public Accounts committee  No. That's clearly not what I'm saying. I'm simply saying that factually, in terms of the comparability of the periods, the policy under review by the Auditor General with the excellent recommendations that we have implemented and continue to maintain a close eye on is a 2016 pol

Public Accounts committee  To be very clear, the Auditor General, who can confirm this, pointed out there were significant gaps in the process. We agree with that and we have addressed those gaps in the process. We'll continue to do that. The actual determination of partisanship in advertising was not part

Public Accounts committee  I'll ask Ms. Acton to answer that question.