Government Operations committee  I can list the three main ones that we measured. On the total number of general increase that we get, we had 265 in the past year. That compared to 218 the year before. Disclosures of wrongdoing was 147 compared to 81. That was the biggest jump in any number that we had. The number of reprisal complaints was 38.

Government Operations committee  Yes, physically moving.

Government Operations committee  Yes, and we're moving within the same building.

Government Operations committee  Yes. The question of timing is always an issue. At one point several years ago, when we were expanding, we actually rented a partial floor. We reconsolidated everybody on the one floor, because it's better for an operation to all be working together. Now, some recent growth having brought us to the limits of our current floor space, we've looked at the most cost-effective options to accommodate more people, and we will be moving.

Government Operations committee  Yes. Right now, in some cases, we are doubled and tripled up in offices. Sometimes, given the nature of what we do, dealing with extremely serious and sensitive issues, some modicum of confidentiality and privacy is highly recommended.

Government Operations committee  All of our investigators are currently in closed offices, and that is something we are trying to toe the line on, in terms of negotiating and dealing with policies and regulations, with respect to federal workplaces. We think it's essential that our investigators have the capacity to be in... it doesn't have to be a big office, but it should have four walls and a door.

Government Operations committee  Occasionally, we do. This week we had three interviews in our offices with witnesses or disclosures or alleged wrongdoers, but we're very flexible in that regard. One of the issues around identifying the appropriate office space that took some, I won't say convincing, but some discussion, was being located in a regular government office building, with a commissionaire at the front desk, and having to sign in before coming to our office.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  We've been successful in that regard.

Government Operations committee  It's a combination of all those factors. The number of people coming forward is slowly increasing. The number of people asking for legal assistance is increasing. Also, I should advise, Mr. Chair, that this year we will be doing a formal evaluation of the legal assistance request program.

Government Operations committee  I'm certainly hopeful, based on direct information and direct communication that we have. Two of our last three case reports dealt with abusive behaviour in the workplace, and I think that's part of the reason our disclosures went up. You can imagine that disclosures tend to go up after the tabling of a case report.

Government Operations committee  As a micro-organization we have not, until now, had our own IM/IT services. One of our new employees is actually going to be our very own IM/IT person. We buy our human resources and compensation services from other organizations. It wouldn't be cost-effective for us to have our own HR group, for example, so we buy those services and use them as needed.

Government Operations committee  Yes, we deal almost exclusively with public servants, but the regime is based on a very important concept in the whistle-blowing world, and that is the choice of where you go. A public servant can choose to make a disclosure internally, to their manager or to a senior officer who has to be appointed within the organization, or they can choose to come directly to us.

Government Operations committee  I'm not aware personally of any new initiatives by the Treasury Board to increase outreach or awareness. I can say, for example, with the public service survey, I reached out to the chief human resources officer in the hope of being able to someday get a question specifically about whistle-blowing in the survey, because the one about reprisal is generally about retaliation, not reprisal under our act.

Government Operations committee  As our past financial reporting has indicated, we have been lapsing funds since the first year of our existence, so the coming year we will be hitting the wall. What happens if we get a continued increase in disclosures or reprisal complaints remains to be seen. At this point we're projecting that we have just enough to do my job under the current legislation.