Public Accounts committee  We're following up, Mr. Chair, on the requirements set out in the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act of 2007, which asked us to come forward with a values and ethics code and conflict of interest provisions within that.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for inviting us to appear before the committee on chapter 4 of the Auditor General's fall report on managing conflict of interest. The secretariat welcomes this report and agrees with the two recommendations concerning us. Of course, values and ethics, including confl

Government Operations committee  I can tell you from our experience with the program review, which involved a sizeable downsizing of the public service back in the 1990s, one thing we learned was that we have to be sensitive to regional impacts. In fact, I do get out to the regions personally from time to time,

Government Operations committee  Well, I believe the reporting is really done on a department-by-department basis, first and foremost, and that would be the first place to look.

Government Operations committee  Do we have measures in terms of, for example, what judges have to stay on—

Government Operations committee  We don't have the kind of regime that judges have to stay on in a supernumerary status that will allow them to work a shorter time but still receive their full pension benefits in the future. As I mentioned, there are opportunities to work on a casual basis, if there's mutual int

Government Operations committee  Well, I think we are a preferred employer. I think we are an excellent employer. We have certain organizations--Statistics Canada, the Farm Credit Corporation, and others in the core administration--that have proven themselves to be among the top employers. So I think we are well

Government Operations committee  Since the freeze is on departmental budgets, and it is up to departments to ensure that they're respecting the limits on operating budgets, it will be to them to look at impacts regionally. Obviously it's very early days. The freeze has been announced only in the last few weeks,

Government Operations committee  It's not part of our regular job to compile the regional distribution of spending. Obviously it's done through some means, but it's not a regular Treasury Board activity to look at the regional distribution of spending.

Government Operations committee  Madam Chair, we do have provisions for those who are retired to return as casual employees. There are various avenues for them to contribute post-retirement. One is as casual employees, another would be as term employees, or another would be through contract arrangements. There

Government Operations committee  They would not do that. I'd have to look at the exact provisions, but I'm fairly sure there are provisions against them staying on as contract employees. They wouldn't be able to enter into those arrangements pre-retirement. In fact, there's a period during which... They're not a

Government Operations committee  I am not talking about the 523,000 public servants, because that is their total number. I'm talking more about the core public administration, and that's the group to which Treasury Board will supply--

Government Operations committee  That's right. First of all, our purview is with the smaller group, and I'd have to get the details for you.

Government Operations committee  First of all, hiring is done by departments. My group, my office, does not hire for the whole public service; we hire for ourselves. But speaking of the public service, there are various avenues. There is the post-secondary recruitment drive that the Public Service Commission is

Government Operations committee  Yes. There is no explicit age of retirement where people are forced to retire. They're quite able to stay on. I'd like to correct something for the record. My colleague has just given me the age of retirement as it was in 2008-09. I guess that's an average over that year. I und