Information & Ethics committee  Mr. Chair, thank you for inviting me to appear before this committee. Before I take the committee's questions, it's important for me to outline my roles and responsibilities as director of communications for the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development as outlined in “Policies and Guidelines for Ministers' Offices”.

Information & Ethics committee  The director of communications and departmental officials are also expected to follow all the rules under the guidelines of the Government of Canada's communications policy. Under the policy, and I quote: “Institutions must consult their minister's office when planning media campaigns or strategies that could involve ministerial participation, or when preparing a response to a media enquiry that could have implications for the minister”.