Government Operations committee  I think the commitment, as I said, is twofold. First, the government has committed to an open-by-default approach thereby improving the transparency of information that it provides to parliamentarians and Canadians. Then with regard to the report on plans and priorities, I think the commitment is to have clearer articulation of the outcomes the government is seeking through the investment of public resources; to state which indicators are associated with those outcomes or targets to determine whether progress is being made against those; and to report frankly and faithfully on what has been achieved through those investments.

Government Operations committee  What I would say, perhaps starting with the final point you made, Mr. Chair, is that fundamentally Destination 2020 is about continuous improvement in the public service of Canada to support the government and Canadians, to be more innovative and agile, to harness technology, to have a modern and effective workplace.

Government Operations committee  As I think we are all very well aware, the way in which people receive news and information and interact with it has dramatically transformed over the past couple of decades. Increasingly, Canadians are turning to online sources. In fact, we are one of the most connected countries in the world, with the highest number of users of the Internet and other sources of information.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, to respond to the member's question, indeed one of the initiatives of the government and one of the initiatives promoted through the public service's Blueprint 2020 initiative has been to promote and enable desktop video conferencing. This has been undertaken by Shared Services Canada, and I would note that 43 organizations across government are accessing this service and are using an average of about 2.5 million minutes of video conferencing each month.

Government Operations committee  The government is continuing to do work on advancing trade through co-operating on such initiatives as Beyond the Border and others with the United States. At the March 10 meeting between the Prime Minister and President Obama, they looked at the importance of border modernization and work to advance key trade policy and trade commerce issues including border trade facilitation, strengthening supply chain benefits, applying innovation and innovative technologies, and addressing cybersecurity implications.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, let me address that question. In February, the government announced a new approach to filling Governor in Council appointments to reflect the diversity of Canada and ensure that the positions were open to Canadians and staffed on the basis of merit. To that end—

Government Operations committee  It is a more open and transparent process that will be available through a website, where all the appointments are advertised and there are opportunities for people to participate in that regard. As the new Governor in Council appointment process takes hold, the government is looking at interim appointments of a one-year duration to address some of the vacancies you noted, and it is attending to that as it moves forward with the new process.

Government Operations committee  Certainly. Perhaps starting with your first question, I think you met with Minister Brison, who spoke to his mandate commitment and approach to having greater clarity of reporting to Parliament and looking for opportunities to work with Parliament to harmonize the budget and estimates process.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, the policy was developed by the Public Service Commission. The Privy Council Office, amongst other departments, provided input into that via the Human Resources Council across government, so they would be best placed to respond to that specific question. But, indeed, as was noted, employment equity and other considerations are part of the staffing policy.

Government Operations committee  Certainly. If it's the will of the committee, we can follow up with the Public Service Commission and provide the information to you.

Government Operations committee  The budget for the Prime Minister's Office is allocated from our funding for the current fiscal year. These expenditures will appear in the public accounts at the end of the year.

Government Operations committee  These resources are allocated to PCO for our working group on communications and consultations.

Government Operations committee  They will be dedicated to the Prime Minister of Canada's official website and other social media.

Government Operations committee  As I said, these resources are assigned to the support, both daily and annual, of the Prime Minister of Canada's official website and other social media tools. The investment enables not only utilization of these tools with an increasing volume—the volume has more than doubled over the past number of years in terms of the utilization of digital media—but it also allows for the development of a web content management system.

Government Operations committee  We may have to get back to the member on that question.