Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me add just a couple of brief opening remarks. First, to echo what Yaprak said, our thanks go to the Auditor General and their team for the professionalism and for the care they took with the work. Our congratulations to you. Thank you for the o

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chair, if I can add to that, there was a deputy ministers steering committee and a series of specific SWAT teams, if you like, of subcommittees of deputies to ensure that coordination. So among the central agencies, with the key departments, and, frankly, with the engagement

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chairman, I will start an answer. I must confess, I don't know whether they're in HD. I can get the information and we'll get back to you in terms of why they would have to be in HD, as opposed to--

Government Operations committee  Public Works is responsible for contracting. Privy Council Office has a broad responsibility for coordinating, including coordination of economic advertising. I will try to respond to several of your questions. In terms of costs, last year $49 million was spent on advertising

Government Operations committee  I'm saying that in the face of the historic downturn a few years ago, the government began--

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  There are still a number of benefits and services available to Canadians in terms of the economic action plan suite of programs.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, maybe I could just try to clarify one other item, which is that, in respect of the Conservative Party of Canada advertisements, we, as public servants, have no connection, no influence, no relationship with the timing or placement of those ads. We work with ad companie

Government Operations committee  I can't speak for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. As you know, Canada's Economic Action Plan was created to react to a global economic crisis. The June 2011 budget continued to adapt the action plan, and the government adopted an integrated and coordinated communications plan. The purpose in this case was to better i

Government Operations committee  The expenditures are not linked to the election campaign. They are linked only to the Canadian government's advertising plan. It is a matter of benefits for Canadians. It is a study that we just launched. There's no relationship whatsoever to the election campaign. This relates

Government Operations committee  That's a good question. It's true that the first stage of Canada's Economic Action Plan, so the response to the economic crisis, is wrapping up. But the last budget, the one for 2011, continues to allow certain measures. And the government has announced a series of measures aime

Government Operations committee  We have tried to modernize our means of communication by maximizing the use of resources. I'll give you a couple of examples of the kinds of things we've undertaken so far. I know that the House of Commons provides members with a daily press clipping service; I think it's call

Government Operations committee  I'll take that question as well, Mr. Chair. There is a continual examination of the ways in which Canadians can be informed of the benefits and services that are available to them, now through the budget, and through exercises like the national shipbuilding strategy. As that un

Government Operations committee  Yes, I would be happy to. Thank you for the question. As I said, the federal identity program has established a look and feel for the Government of Canada, and as advertising has diversified, as website presence and other government communication activities have diversified....