Veterans Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct. The western democratic model for an ombudsman is a person who suggests remedies and solutions, not somebody with a power to make or overturn decisions. But the office, nevertheless, is seen as pretty powerful; and as I said earlier, it's a brave government agency that doesn't implement an ombudsman's recommendations.

Veterans Affairs committee  The way it works is that the ombudsman tries to resolve problems at the lowest level within the agencies. The vast bulk of the problems, as the stats indicate, are resolved fairly informally, normally by phone calls or a quick note from the ombudsman's staff to the relevant agency, as I understand it.

Veterans Affairs committee  In Australia it's fairly clear in terms of what each agency is responsible for, so as far as I'm aware, there's very little issue with overlap. But you will note in terms of the structure of the ombudsman's office that the group that looks after defence also looks after veterans affairs.

Veterans Affairs committee  That's purely at the discretion of the ombudsman. The legislation allows the ombudsman to make any public reports that he desires. In terms of the annual report, it's just mandated that when he reports to the Prime Minister as the minister responsible for his department, so to speak, in a public service sense that report must be tabled in Parliament.

Veterans Affairs committee  I'm not aware of that.

Veterans Affairs committee  In terms of our veteran population, we have around 330,000 veterans. The bulk of them are of World War II vintage. I think the average age is about 83, so we're seeing a decline. I think the projections are that the number will probably decline to somewhere around 200,000 by about 2015.

Veterans Affairs committee  May I just clarify this? The Prime Minister administers the ombudsman's legislation, but the ombudsman still tables his report and reports to the Parliament. In terms of his annual report, whilst he gives it to the Prime Minister, the legislation mandates that the Prime Minister must table that report within fifteen sitting days of receiving it.

Veterans Affairs committee  I described how it's done in Australia.

Veterans Affairs committee  How Canada or the Canadian government wishes to do it is really up to you. I would add that under the Australian government legislation, the ombudsman can only be removed with cause. Most ombudsmen who have been appointed over the years, both at the federal level and the state level, have been very much people of integrity.

Veterans Affairs committee  In Australia, our House of Commons is called the House of Representatives, and we have a bicameral system like you do, with a Senate. To the extent that the government of the day is made up of a majority of members of the House of Commons or House of Representatives—I know you have a minority government at the moment—it's that government that makes the recommendation to the Governor General on the appointment.

Veterans Affairs committee  I don't have that information, but it's equivalent to a departmental secretary or a deputy minister. In the Australia context, the ombudsman is seen as the equivalent of a deputy minister or secretary, and the remuneration rates are set by an independent remuneration tribunal. If I had a ballpark stab at what the figure would be, it's probably somewhere between $250,000 and $350,000 in Australian dollars.

Veterans Affairs committee  Firstly, the ombudsman is established by legislation and he is appointed for a seven-year term and that's signed off by the Governor General. The ombudsman, in terms of deputy ministers--or secretaries, as we say in Australia--is taken to be the equivalent of a permanent head of a department, and in that sense he reports to the Prime Minister.

Veterans Affairs committee  Yes. And I might add, the power of an ombudsman is always in the exposure or the production of the public report, and that's where the power of the ombudsman emanates from.

Veterans Affairs committee  It's a recommendation of the government of the day to the Governor General. It's a statutory appointment that the Governor General.... And we have a similar constitutional system to you, with the Queen as the head of state and the Governor General as the representative of the Queen.

Veterans Affairs committee  The Australian ombudsman is in the traditional mould of ombudsmen around the world, in that he is a person who makes recommendations and suggests solutions. He has no power to make decisions or overturn decisions. The power is in the production of the report. And as I said earlier, in terms of the major recommendations in his public reports from 2005-06, agencies accepted 49 of the 51 suggestions.