Government Operations committee  Okay. All right. Thank you.

Government Operations committee  You mentioned the famous words that you were “not acting on behalf of”.

Government Operations committee  Therefore, none of the policy requirements would apply.

Government Operations committee  No.

Government Operations committee  Over a certain dollar amount, there is a requirement to do polling before and after.

Government Operations committee  That would take a fair amount of time. I think we can provide the information on the advertising within two weeks. With regard to the signage, that really is within each departmental budget. It is also dependent, if I may, on the number of initiatives and activities. It would b

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, on the communications policy, the only elements that would guide certain activities would be ones where, for example, there would be partnership arrangements or events or initiatives where more than one partner would be involved, at which point there are some specifi

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I will be brief. I want to avoid your hand signal. The communications policy does in fact have some elements with regard to the polling, the public opinion research. In fact, we do have to test prior to the advertising in order for us to be able to measur

Government Operations committee  With regard to what we prefer to call ceremonial cheques, the usage of them is covered only when a member of Parliament or parliamentarian is acting specifically on behalf of a minister as his or her designate. In that instance, it is an official Government of Canada activity whe

Government Operations committee  Again, Madam Chair, if these events were not organized or set out by the minister or by his or her delegates, the department would have not been involved in the event or the initiative, at which point the federal identity program and the communications policy would not have appli

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, the policy establishes the guidelines that the departments must follow. It is up to each department to establish a communications plan or a communications strategy. The Treasury Board does not have a communications plan, except for its own department. Most of the com

Government Operations committee  Indeed, our advertising planning is done based on the amounts that are allocated and posted. We can provide you and the clerk with the hyperlink to the Treasury Board Secretariat site where the amounts and initiatives to which those amounts are allocated are posted.

Government Operations committee  Allow me to point out that there is no pan-governmental planning. Funding is available for television, radio and other advertising. The departments request access to that funding. The allocation of that funding is posted on the website. However, it is the responsibility of each d

Government Operations committee  I would point out that, for advertising, there is a Treasury Board Secretariat website where the amounts allocated to each of the departments for advertising campaigns are posted. There you can find the amounts that were allocated under the economic recovery plan, for example, to