Government Operations committee  I think there will be room to do that, there's no question.

Government Operations committee  We've done focus groups recently, and it's clear that 80% of public servants do not even know we exist. So ten years from now, I would like to make sure that the vast majority of public servants are aware that we exist and aware of what we can do and of what the act can do for th

Government Operations committee  That period of my career was a total of 18 months. I think it's important to understand that it was only 18 months. I think I carried out two projects under the aegis of the Sussex Circle. They were two short-term projects of ten days each with two clients. Of course I have to

Government Operations committee  Off the top—I did not do an analysis whatsoever—I would say it would be 10%.

Government Operations committee  I'm very concerned with the fact that in several files I had the distinct impression that somebody was able to evade the situation simply by taking their retirement, by leaving the public sector. In one case we even had a person who went to a satellite, publicly funded organizat

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  Their view, and I understand their view and respect their view, is that unless you're an “outsider”--i.e., somebody who has never worked in the public sector--there is a risk that you will not be objective, that you will tend to favour former colleagues or friends. That's it in

Government Operations committee  And you can take preventative steps, and you can understand the psychology much more than can somebody who comes from outside.

Government Operations committee  This is an officer of Parliament position. Throughout my career, I learned what it means to be an officer of Parliament: it is someone who acts on behalf of Parliament. That person has to be completely independent because of the nature of the duties. Legal training helps us to un

Government Operations committee  It has not really changed. As I said last night before the Senate in committee of the whole, I have see the entire workload. There are all sorts of files. There are small files, large files, files to do with human resources, financial files, etc. There is a range of behaviours an

Government Operations committee  When it comes to the legal aspect, we are not the only option. In every department, there is a senior officer appointed by the deputy minister to handle these cases. When individuals want to disclose what they consider to be wrongdoing, an act that they witnessed, they can disclo

Government Operations committee  We're down to 23.

Government Operations committee  The literature would suggest that it has been the experience in some other countries that the ratio of well-founded wrongdoings is very low. In the U.S., something like 2% of the cases that were reported were found to be well-founded. That's one explanation. I work on a case-by

Government Operations committee  Essentially, we can do that by better explaining what is covered, what the limitations are, how to go about lodging a complaint, and how to consult prior to lodging a complaint so as to situate and express, as well as possible, the actual complaint that you would like to pursue.

Government Operations committee  No, I think we have inherited a very young system, still in its infancy. With that, we have to explore how to make it work. I am convinced we can make it work. That's why I've agreed to come out of retirement and make it work. It is feasible. There's no question in my mind.