Industry committee  I wouldn't be concerned about ability to attract candidates, but I would be concerned about the ability to attract the very best candidates. The person assuming that role will want to know that they would be empowered to do the job to the very best of their ability and that they

Industry committee  I've thought a lot about the provisions. There are a number of things that have to happen. One is that a definition of the census needs to be inserted into the act that will ensure and make clear that even questions asked on a sample basis are part of the census. That's not there

Industry committee  I didn't prepare to answer that question, so I don't have the details. The most flagrant example is the one I mentioned in my speaking notes, in regard to what we call at Statistics Canada a new dissemination project, or major overhaul of the way we disseminate information. It wa

Industry committee  Well, the census isn't a good example, because it was a huge spike, absolutely, probably one of the biggest spikes the government has ever seen in terms of demand for informatics, but we knew exactly when it was going to happen and were able to build the capacity to face it. Th

Industry committee  The United Kingdom and Australia also have launched these kinds of cross-government informatics consolidations. In the U.K., the issue was raised about the independence of the statistical office. Ultimately, the statistical office was given a waiver to not participate because of

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, I consider myself to be very knowledgeable in the area of IT. I'm certainly not an IT expert. I employ people to do that for me.

Industry committee  Mr. Chair, there were three essential reasons I tendered my resignation. The first reason was that I felt that the fact that Shared Services Canada was handling confidential respondent information under the terms and conditions that existed was in fact a violation of the Statis

Industry committee  I'm comparing the situation now to what it was ex ante. Ex ante, Statistics Canada made the decisions regarding its informatics infrastructure. When it needed infrastructure, as long as it had the budget, it could proceed. It has lost that ability. Therefore, it has less independ

Industry committee  I would note that Statistics Canada's data is supposed to be protected not only from people outside the federal government, but also from other people within the federal government itself. The CRA, RCMP, CSIS, and CSEC's having access to Statistics Canada's data is as much a viol

Industry committee  There were numerous meetings, some of which I was involved in, and far more extensive meetings with my staff and the staff with Shared Services Canada. There was ongoing discussion and consultation.

Industry committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I would like to thank you for this opportunity to address the committee as it studies Bill C-36, a bill that seeks to establish the professional independence of Statistics Canada in law. Ivan Fellegi and I have played a significant role internati

Government Operations committee  Well, we did, but one part of my mandate, in my tenure, was a complete consolidation of our informatics infrastructure under one management. It had been very decentralized. We knew what was there, but it was not particularly efficient. We had already taken steps to consolidate

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  Yes, absolutely.

Government Operations committee  In the culture of—