Industry committee  The decision-making process is such that at the end of the day, it is the ministers who decide. Officials can provide additional information. They will attempt to ensure that ministers have all the information at their disposal which, given the circumstances, could be useful to help them understand a given program.

Industry committee  It varies a great deal. Take Statistics Canada, for instance. That agency has a $600 million budget. We reviewed the situation with other officials and had discussions with the Chief Statistician who, along with others, identified possible areas in which cutbacks could be considered.

Industry committee  Perhaps you could ask the Minister that question because it is not usually up to officials to initiate...

Industry committee  I 've noted your suggestion and will pass it along to the Chief Statistician.

Industry committee  The Canadian Tourism Commission, set up by law, is a crown corporation that has its own board of directors, and we will be developing an appropriate governance memorandum of understanding with them. They don't report to me. They are an agency of government. However, as Mr. Masse indicates, as the minister's deputy minister, I do provide some guidance, some comments to assist him in the discharge of his ministerial responsibility vis-à-vis the Canadian Tourism Commission.

Industry committee  Yes, with the caveat that I referred to earlier, that I believe the previous budget reduced it by about--if I'm correct--$3 million. I'll get back to you by tomorrow on that. This was not the last budget, by Minister Flaherty, but the previous one. So the overall fiscal envelope fundamentally has remained the same.

Industry committee  There are a number of other areas and other departments that the Government of Canada makes a contribution to in supporting tourism. There are some in ACOA. I referred to the support for the founding of Quebec City, which obviously is going to be a great tourist boom as people rediscover how well Champlain did by planting a flag in 1608.

Industry committee  Since your comments are going on record, I wouldn't want my colleague, the Chief Statistician, to think that I had stepped in and cut his budget. This was a decision made by ministers, by cabinet. On the other hand, I think you can hardly blame them and that if you did, it would not be fair.

Industry committee  First of all, I want to make it clear that I wasn't the one to order the budget cutbacks.

Industry committee  But, since...

Industry committee  As I said, we look forward to having this meeting.

Industry committee  We discussed the issue with my colleague from Treasury Board. Some meetings were held with the Chief Statistician and it was suggested that he take a serious look at what could be done this year. It is important to note that this year's expenditures by Statistics Canada are somewhat unusual because it is a census year.

Industry committee  If you look at the nature of the reductions that were announced, they span quite a diversity of agencies, programs, and activities, from Statistics Canada, to intellectual property, going back to technology partnerships. As I said earlier in response to a question from Mr. Carrie, all organizations always need to review what they do and how they do it to ensure internal operating efficiency as well as effectiveness of the programs, and in some respects, this is an ongoing activity, of which this is a part.

Industry committee  First, in terms of CAPC, the minister very much looks forward to meeting with that organization.

Industry committee  Thank you.