Public Accounts committee  I don't know if it was formally, legally delegated. It was a matter that I think was the prerogative of the deputy ministers who were involved. One would have been Treasury Board as the employer, and the other would be Public Services, I think as it was called by then, as the pro

Public Accounts committee  No, because I have no executive authority over deputy ministers—none, zero.

Public Accounts committee  I would like to say first that there are reasons for the processes, such as protecting public funds and ensuring that everything is done properly. There are checks at several levels to protect the public interest. This has to be balanced with due diligence, innovation, and creat

Public Accounts committee  It was January 22, roughly—yes.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for your question. I am not saying the public service is perfect or does not make mistakes, even serious mistakes, from time to time. It was created by human beings and is managed by human beings. Further, its services are delivered by human beings. So mistakes are mad

Public Accounts committee  I would hope, Mr. Chair, that I get a chance to respond to some of that.

Public Accounts committee  I think government constantly improves over the years. Otherwise, why would I be able to recite that set of statistics that says we have the most effective public service on the planet?

Public Accounts committee  Many have and many have not, and one of the roles of the committee—

Public Accounts committee  Yes, there were more than 10 Auditor General chapters over the years on that specific department. That specific department was a legal construct based on contribution agreements, and the men and women who went into that department did the best they could with outdated legislation

Public Accounts committee  I'm confident they are being taken very seriously by the minister and the officials and that if you ask them back a year from now, they'll be able to report on progress.

Public Accounts committee  Absolutely.

Public Accounts committee  You are asking me if I know about unknown unknowns. One of the things I have trouble with in the Auditor General's language is—

Public Accounts committee  I have no doubt that errors and mistakes will be made across the public service. We're more than 300 organizations with 5,000 executives and 260,000 human beings coming in, and there will be—

Public Accounts committee  I'm not going to guarantee it will never happen, but I do have some confidence in the fact that we're here today and that with all of the multiple lines of accountability and oversight in government departments, these issues are surfaced, they are identified, remedies are put for

Public Accounts committee  I'll have to say I have no particular knowledge or expertise of the details of that methodology. I think the deputy minister of Indigenous Services would be the right person to ask. I could probably mess up an answer by venturing one. I would take the opportunity to build on th