Government Operations committee  There wouldn't be any element.... I think where we exercise a compliance rule is if somebody, for example, uses a Government of Canada identifier or symbol for their own commercial activities, or starts to misrepresent activities of the government. At that point, we would intervene.

Government Operations committee  I do have some history of when the first infrastructure program was established. The signage for the Canada infrastructure works program was started within four months of the launch of the initiative, when the first agreements were signed with the provinces.

Government Operations committee  If I may, Madam Chair, it would have started in 1994.

Government Operations committee  I wasn't around for the Speech from the Throne and this, but I would say, if I can indicate in terms of the government communications policy or the FIP, there are no prescriptions or elements that determine colour, font, or format. So it is really up to each government to determine the nature of the presentation elements they will use.

Government Operations committee  Again, the policy does not preclude or prescribe the nature of the colour, font, or other elements that are used in government communications.

Government Operations committee  Again, Madam Chair, according to the policy, the requirements are for the official signature of the government, the image of the government, to be labelled as such. There are no components that prescribe the use of specific wording in terms of the messages and the communications materials as long as the signature and the use of the official symbols are consistent with the policies.

Government Operations committee  If I may, the original linkages--I'll turn to my colleague on this--were to the Prime Minister of Canada. Again, if there are some subsequent linkages, those are some of the issues that we've discovered when we've linked to social networking. For the specifics of the points that you're raising, in particular for this website, I'll perhaps ask my colleague to expand on that.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, with regard to the publication of documents, I believe the government has tabled three quarterly reports in Parliament and a fourth is scheduled for December, if I'm not mistaken, outlining the commitments made by the Government of Canada on the economic recovery action plan.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, allow me to answer the question. As you indicated, the policy does not apply to parliamentarians who are not the official spokespersons of a minister. In the case you refer to, it is up to political authorities to determine what the situation is. In this case, the Prime Minister had clearly stated that this was not an appropriate use and that the mix of the two events and the presence of political ties were not acceptable.

Government Operations committee  No, we weren't aware of it.

Government Operations committee  I am. I don't think Mr. Hurcomb is.

Government Operations committee  If I may talk about the social networking sites, Madam Chair, what we are finding--and this is where the current policy is silent because they were not prevalent at the time at which the policy was last updated--is that linking to social network sites is actually quite useful in certain instances.

Government Operations committee  Perhaps it may not be new, but it is not something that the Government of Canada has envisaged in its official communications activities. We have tried it. We have looked at it in a number of ways, and we're trying to come to grips with what it means when other people feed into a social network site that we link up to.

Government Operations committee  When a member of Parliament acts as a designated spokesperson for the government, that means the department acts as the support mechanism for the communications activities, so there is in fact a direct link between the minister acting as a spokesperson and his or her designate. In this instance, and we have had a look at a number of these activities, members of Parliament who were not acting as designated spokespersons are not supported or covered by the communications and federal identity policy.

Government Operations committee  As I explained, we have examined all communications activities, whether it be television advertising, visual signage or the website. And communication materials are in compliance with both policies.