Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Yes. It just occurred to me what would be really different in Bill C-2 if you stuck in the definition of lying by the American scholar Sissela Bok, who wrote a book in 1978 called Lying , because the U.S. administration was lying to the American people on Vietnam. Her definition of lying is pretty damned rigorous; it is “any intentionally deceptive message that is stated”.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Not especially on that one, no. I've left alone the area of the conduct rules.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I maintain that if you are publicly accountable, which is to say that you have to state publicly what you intend to do and why you intend it and what your performance is and all that stuff, then the fact that you have to report publicly and can be audited by someone for fairness and completeness is a motivation to do the right thing.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  There is a lot of debate on to what extent deputy ministers report directly to parliamentary committees. The academics--or some of them, anyway--say deputy ministers should account to Parliament only for those responsibilities that are statutorily or authoritatively told to them.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Yes. You could also recommend that a House committee be struck to examine principles and standards in government accountability, and we could call that a Government of Canada Public Accountability Act. It would cover off accountabilities within the executive government and from the executive government to the House.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I think so, yes. I've given them to Wayne.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  This morning I wish simply to put before you the concept and logic of public accountability and how it can increase fairness in society and citizen trust in authorities. Without that trust, society doesn't work properly. My aim is to try to show you how you can act to prevent harm and injustice, such as the lethally contaminated blood of the 1980s or the management control failures in HRDC in sponsorship.