Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'll be very brief. I'll provide a quick overview of the steps taken by the Privy Council Office in response to the Auditor General's recommendations. Prior to appointment, conflict of interest and expected standards of conduct are discussed with each proposed governor in council appointee.

Government Operations committee  There are hundreds of positions. It would be physically impossible for us to coordinate and run everything centrally. The positions are announced. There are various agencies such as the IRB that run their own selection processes. Vacancies are announced. People submit their CVs and go through written tests.

Government Operations committee  To use the IRB as a specific example, it runs a very rigorous selection process for positions. The intent to run a process is announced publically. People apply, and then they go through a very rigorous selection process to arrive at a list of qualified candidates. That is then submitted to the minister to select those to recommend as appointees to cabinet.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  With respect to the Immigration and Refugee Board, the role of the Privy Council Office is the same as for all appointments made by cabinet, appointments by the Governor in Council to various boards, agencies and commissions. Essentially, it's a coordination function to ensure that vacancies are filled and to ensure that necessary due diligence is applied in terms of vetting the appointments, in terms of security checks, etc., that have to be done before the appointments are made.

Public Accounts committee  The government's appraisal is over the previous fiscal year, right? We're doing it for the previous fiscal year, but if there's a deputy who is consistently singled out for problem areas vis-à-vis their management responsibilities, as pointed out in AG reports, then that's obviously something being discussed when their assessment is made.

Public Accounts committee  I'll endeavour to follow up on some of the questions, as I mentioned, and I'll provide that to the clerk. Thank you very much.

Public Accounts committee  Deputy ministers are all ambitious and are all trying to keep moving ahead in their careers, and someone who is a poor performer doesn't. That's the number one sanction, in addition to the consequences for their at-risk pay.

Public Accounts committee  That's tied to your colleague Mr. Sweet's question, and that's what I will endeavour to get back to the committee on: that ultimate sanction that you are referring to.

Public Accounts committee  The Clerk of the Privy Council advises the Prime Minister on the management of the deputy minister community. The clerk is responsible to the Prime Minister on that. Your question falls within the ambit of that responsibility to the Prime Minister for how the deputy minister community is managed.

Public Accounts committee  Well, it is in line with the work of the Treasury Board Secretariat, which Mr. Wouters referred to in his appearance. We're in line with that, because as I mentioned, the information we have in terms of the performance of deputy ministers vis-à-vis their management responsibilities comes from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

Public Accounts committee  Michael Wernick is probably going to rue the day I say this, but for Michael Wernick, who was appointed Deputy Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, I can say that one of the factors was his young age, which will hopefully allow for continuity, without any of the events that ruin the best laid plans.

Public Accounts committee  I can't think of an example, but I don't have the institutional memory between my ears. I'll have to check the records on that and get back to the committee.

Public Accounts committee  No, there isn't a mandatory retirement age, although after someone is eligible for their full pension, you would have to wonder why they would stay much longer.

Public Accounts committee  I'm sorry, I can't comment on the specifics of that case. In terms of deputies who do not get performance pay overall, of both deputies and deputy heads of agencies in 2003-04, 8% didn't receive any at-risk pay.