Public Accounts committee  That part of it was certainly right.

Public Accounts committee  No, it's correct. I think there was an initial meeting, and Mike gave the same response that he would to a department official or someone from the minister's office who was seeking to do this sort of thing, to advise of the options available and the pros and cons at a very high l

Public Accounts committee  I'm not trying to provide that. I think Mr. McLaughlin provided that. The onus was put on him. He's the one who was delegated authority. And the message to him early on was that if you're going to do something other than a competitive process, you'd better justify it well.

Public Accounts committee  Yes, it is standard practice where the.... You have to understand, again, that this is not a contracting process. I mentioned two contracts that were let by the Department of Finance.

Public Accounts committee  You're talking about the contract that was issued....

Public Accounts committee  Exactly. That contract was issued by David McLaughlin. As I mentioned, there's an important distinction in terms of ministers' offices and how they're managed. They are all part of the departmental vote. But the ministers' offices are not populated by public servants. The people

Public Accounts committee  I don't know the exact number, but—

Public Accounts committee  --I can get that. It is maybe 50 or 60, I guess. I'd have to check. Somebody will get me the number right away. It is 60.

Public Accounts committee  Well, quite possibly. I think this contract was not let to do the department's work. The contract was let as part of the minister's budget in the minister's office. It was not the department's budget. The expenditure was made from the minister's office to assist him with the poli

Public Accounts committee  I'm very proud to be the Deputy Minister of Finance. We have some great employees with all sorts of skills, but there's no employee on communications who I would let work in the minister's office on the political design, defence, and preparation of a budget. That's a political fu

Public Accounts committee  In terms of the minister's office, I did know. In fact, they did seek advice from our contracting experts on engaging Mr. MacPhie. They were given some advice. Yes, I knew that they executed that contract.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am pleased to be here today. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to make a few comments. I read the committee's motion and welcome an open dialogue on these important matters. In this respect, I would note that my department had two contracts wi

Status of Women committee  It's always important to see what progress we've made and to remain aware of the important issues. I want to thank you for your speech and your passion. I think you're in a position where passion makes a difference. As a Canadian, I'm really proud of the progress we've made ove

Status of Women committee  Stepping back—and although I haven't gone over this in detail, I'm sure my colleagues from the Privy Council Office and Treasury Board would have reinforced the same point—the role of the public service is to support ministers in making decisions. My role as Deputy Minister of Fi

Status of Women committee  Right, and I think the direction from this committee in 2005 and 2006, and the response from the government.... It wasn't the Department of Finance doing this; it was all of government broadening gender-based analysis. I think the key to making sure there's continued progress by