Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  My point in raising this is that someone could look at the statute and say that the DPP has the authority to hire and dismiss the commissioner for cause. That would suggest to many, or to some at least, that I have some power of oversight over how investigations are conducted. Ot

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the invitation to appear before you today as you continue your consideration of Bill C-23. Through the clerk, I've provided all members of the committee a brief overview of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I do not propose to take up the committee

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That is correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That is correct.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  That's always been the case, and that is the case, I might add, for all investigations under any legislation.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  As I mentioned in the opening statement, I'm satisfied that on balance an informed person looking at the entire bill, and at the measures that are being introduced, realistically and practically would conclude that the perception is very low. However, the perception is important

Justice committee  I will start with giving a bit of history on the crimorg.ca site. It was a proposal that was raised at the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Heads of Prosecutions Committee, of which all prosecutors in Canada are members. It was Manitoba that came forth with the idea. They suggested

Justice committee  Yes.

Justice committee  We have 13 crown witness coordinators on staff at present. We're in the process of hiring a 14th. They are all based in the three territories, and the reason for that is the nature of our practice differs in the territories from the provinces. In the provinces, the majority of

Justice committee  I would like to describe our mandate, which is very simple. We do not investigate: we provide legal advice to investigators and we institute legal proceedings. That is what the money we will be receiving will be used for.

Justice committee  As I mentioned, we received $15.6 million at the outset, in 2006, as one-time funding. To date we have spent $6.6 million, leaving a balance of $9 million, and we're seeking $3 million in these supplementary estimates.

Justice committee  When we were established in December of 2006, Budget 2006 set aside $15.6 million on a one-time basis to allow us to achieve the separation the minister just described. We couldn't have immediately gone out to end the leases across the country; that would have been too expensiv

Justice committee  I think that the program was assessed during the year. Following that assessment, we received more money. Our department is not the only one to receive funds. In fact, I believe eight departments participate in the program to combat money laundering.