Public Accounts committee  Rest assured there are protections that currently exist.

Public Accounts committee  That is why we are constantly reassessing what we have in place in order to make sure that in particularly difficult areas we have the level of protection. The delegation, as it is, can be used by the deputy minister in areas where he feels it is needed, and if there are extra measures that need to be done, we have put the capacity in place to actually react more quickly.

Public Accounts committee  I would like to thank the committee members and you, Mr. Chair, for the very important questions raised today.

Public Accounts committee  There are a couple of things. The good thing is that now we have put the mechanism in place.

Public Accounts committee  The biggest reason was the fact that because we already had, as I said earlier, a five-level security continuum, we needed to make sure we were not doubling existing authorities. From the moment we came to the conclusion that we were not, we freed up the authority to actually do what needed to be done.

Public Accounts committee  No. The $103 million represents only payments under the foreign service directives. Those payments apply to the 1,570 people who leave Canada and are deployed overseas. It does not include their salaries.

Public Accounts committee  Unfortunately, I do not have those figures.

Public Accounts committee  It is important to understand that the foreign service directives include five levels of security against which all countries where people are deployed are evaluated. The evaluation looks at issues such as access to care, the quality of that care and, obviously, whether there are any problems in the country.

Public Accounts committee  Yes. The co-chairs are Dan Danagher, a director general with the Treasury Board Secretariat, and Ms. Mignault from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Public Accounts committee  It has been approved and is in effect.

Public Accounts committee  I would echo what Mr. Edwards is saying. There is certainly a big push through PS renewal to make sure all DMs in town are seized with this problem. The colleagues from the portfolio, the Canada Public Service Agency, also have been leading the way in making sure there is an alignment of HR planning and business planning, of which the prime example is the new plan Mr.

Public Accounts committee  It was approved quite recently—at the beginning of the year—by the committee itself and the deputy ministers in place.

Public Accounts committee  Correct.

Public Accounts committee  There was no formal check with the Office of the Auditor General, but the terms of reference were circulated after they were approved.

Public Accounts committee  First of all, you asked how the cyclical review of the foreign service directives fits in with the other work the department is doing. Certainly, a number of activities are under way. The cyclical review began in October and will be completed in June 2008. It is focusing on the most pressing issues that need to be looked at in discussions between the employer and its union partners.