Government Operations committee  Judicial review is usually done in writing. However, going before the tribunal could also result in costs for the individual. That was my comment.

Government Operations committee  I would just add and confirm that in the case where the commissioner dismisses it as no reprisal, the individual can refer that to the Federal Court for judicial review. It's not like it's the last step and there's nothing to be done. There's already, within the act, a mechanism to have a judicial review of that decision.

Government Operations committee  They may not know that there is a higher standard. This is an avenue that the act would provide to them, which could render a cost for them and a new trial for them. It's unclear why they would, but that doesn't mean that they won't.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  I will talk about it very broadly, and ask Mary Anne to supplement my answer. I think Mr. Fergus explained it well. Right now, when there is a reprisal, it's only the PSIC who can actually hear or receive those complaints. The PSIC will determine whether or not the matter needs to be referred to the tribunal, based on reasonable grounds.

Government Operations committee  Yes. I was wondering if you would like me to address some of these answers right now.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for your question. The interim standard is a pilot project that will be in place for approximately two years. We will be gathering information in terms of costs. There are a couple of things there. We expect it's going to be used on an exceptional basis. This is not to come to, let's say, Ottawa every week; it's just once or twice a year.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much. Very quickly, as you know, there are so many jobs and so many functions within government. Some are very precise in terms that you can quantify—number of calls, amount collected, and so on and so forth. Others are a little bit more, I'll say, intangible in terms of how it's done.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. Training is a decentralized responsibility. Deputy heads determine the amounts allocated for training. For our part, we have not set a general amount. That said, the Canada School of Public Service has a budget to train all public servants. Certain departments also offer learning activities, such as Service Canada.

Government Operations committee  No, that does not exist. To my knowledge, the funding is allocated for each department, where centres of expertise provide the training.

Government Operations committee  Thank you very much for the question. Under the current Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, there are four reasons for which a complaint may be deemed inadmissible, including: a) the subject-mater of the complaint has been adequately dealt with, or could more appropriately be dealt with, according to a procedure provided for under an Act of Parliament, other than this Act, or a collective agreement; In the proposed wording of Bill C‑290, this reason would no longer be in the act, nor would the reason that the complaint was “not made in good faith”.

Government Operations committee  We don't know what the president would actually.... We can't say anything on that. I'm sorry.

Government Operations committee  Let's say there was a reprisal, and there was a decision as to whether it happened again, and then there were further reprisals. The person could go back to the PSIC and be protected.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. As Mr. Fergus said, that falls under the tasks and responsibilities of the Treasury Board Secretariat. We already have people who work on administering the act. It would be part of their responsibilities. If there is a cost, it would be very marginal.

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the question. I don't have the definition in front of me, but I know that it specifically relates to hiring and staffing. If you take a definition that is applied in a narrow framework and then apply it in a broader framework, it could be missing some things, or it could be interpreted as being only related to staffing.