Government Operations committee  That's a fundamental question, Mr. Chair. The Public Service Commission is absolutely committed to the merit principle and to fairness, transparency, and openness in all of its processes. We ensure through our delegation of authority to deputy ministers that they also are committ

Government Operations committee  It probably would be a little too early to be able to answer if structural changes are required. You have to appreciate that I have not yet had the benefit of being briefed by the folks at the Public Service Commission. I would hold on that answer for the time being, Mr. Chair.

Government Operations committee  I talked about it a little in our approach to recruiting young people and modernizing that, and changing the language of our advertisements and the way we post jobs. We can learn a lot. I remember I was briefed when I was on the deputy minister advisory committee with the Publi

Government Operations committee  Thank you.

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I'm not sure that's really in my area of responsibility, because that's getting into a different type of audit. I have experience working in audits related to the economic action plans on things like the infrastructure. I know we are going to be doing some audit work r

Government Operations committee  Absolutely. Mr. Chair, this is an area where I don't think we're tapping into the full potential. My understanding is that it's less so in terms of attracting, but more in retaining. We have a lot of people who are leaving after a few years. Whether it's barriers related to acces

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, that's a very good question. I think we've made a lot of progress over the last number of years, particularly in terms of gender parity. There are more and more women deputy ministers, associate deputy ministers, and assistant deputy ministers.

Government Operations committee  I don't have data with me, but certainly I can look into that and get back to you. In my experience in the organizations in which I've worked, I think we've made a huge amount of progress. I think there are still some issues in terms of visible minorities, who feel that there a

Government Operations committee  We do need to look at that, and ways we can ensure that, through the right training and awareness programs, all public servants understand their roles and responsibilities. Then, of course, from time to time we do have public servants who come forward, and decide to run for offi

Government Operations committee  Mr. Chair, I would have to study those remarks a little bit more carefully, but I do agree that we haven't always done a great job in the public service in terms of linking the programs that we manage and the funds that are entrusted to us with results in a very precise way. I kn

Government Operations committee  Over my career I certainly have had my share of working with audits, including with the Auditor General. I have sat on audit committees, including one now at Canadian Heritage, so I know a fair bit about the area. I do need to get a better understanding of how the audit world wor

Government Operations committee  Yes, I am. I'm not alone. I've been working with colleagues across the public service on these issues over the last number of months at the request of the Clerk of the Privy Council. We're looking forward to finalizing that work and being able to put forward ideas and solutions.

Government Operations committee  Yes, Mr. Chair, the Commissioner of Official Languages has investigated cases and made reports on these, so they're not isolated cases. Again, I am talking about bilingual regions, so I'm not talking about everywhere across the country.

Government Operations committee  Well, the majority of the positions in the public service do not require bilingual status. We're talking about those positions that are in bilingual regions, or that are playing roles where bilingualism is required.

Government Operations committee  Well, the track record shows that we have lots of great Canadians from everywhere in the country that have found themselves into those leadership positions. Yes, we probably need to invest maybe earlier on.