Public Accounts committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I would like to deal with the single issue of the extent to which I went along with whatever was proposed here. As I said in my opening statement, my position on this was clear throughout. I believe my position on this was the reason that mid-February mee

Public Accounts committee  Mr. Chairman, I wasn't privy to any discussions with any ministers relating to the accounting of costs for the firearms program.

Public Accounts committee  It would be Mr. Baker's decision, technically, in terms of the accountabilities, as to whether or not to recommend to the minister the need for supplementary estimates and the accounting for these transactions.

Public Accounts committee  No, Mr. Chairman, I did not. The responsibility for financial reporting of the Firearms Centre, I believe as Mr. Baker has acknowledged, is the responsibility of the deputy head, based on the advice that he's received.

Public Accounts committee  I will just respond to Mr. Baker, Mr. Chairman. In my view, my position was very clear in that meeting. I maintained that view throughout the meeting. I didn't feel it was necessary at that meeting to repeat myself. My view was known. My assessment was that everybody in the room

Public Accounts committee  I'll speak from my recollection. It has already been mentioned that Madam Bloodworth convened the meeting. I was in attendance. Madam Cartwright was in attendance. Mr. Baker and Mr. Brunet were in attendance. There may have been some officials from PWGSC in attendance as well, bu

Public Accounts committee  In terms of who makes that final say, I guess, Mr. Chairman, that would ultimately be the decision of ministers, based on the advice of public servants. I can speak from my own role on this. As I indicated in my testimony, I thought my position was clear throughout. I maintaine

Public Accounts committee  I believe we may be mixing up two different things. I think the agreement in principle is the agreement with the contractor for the work. Some considerable urgency was associated with the meeting in February 2004.

Public Accounts committee  Because of the timing of the final supplementary estimates for 2003.

Public Accounts committee  As I testified, Mr. Chairman, during my short time as the Comptroller General, this was a relatively straightforward issue for me. I have worked in government for quite a while; I've dealt with complex accounting issues. As I said earlier, this one was clear to me. The work had b

Public Accounts committee  No, I didn't. At the mid-February meeting, Mr. Chairman, no, I did not raise it. In hindsight, I regret not doing so.

Public Accounts committee  I can only speak for myself as the Comptroller General. As I said in my opening statement, my accounting advice was consistent throughout my entire involvement with this file, that these were liabilities and should be recorded by the Firearms Centre and charged against the approp

Public Accounts committee  Decisions to resign positions, Mr. Chairman, are based on many considerations, but I should say that this was a major factor in my decision to resign, yes.

Public Accounts committee  I don't think I can answer that question, because I don't recall any explicit polling of participants in the meeting so as to know what their positions were. There was a discussion about the legal opinion, there was a discussion about the accounting, and there was a discussion ab

Public Accounts committee  If I may, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Baker has made two references to his assertion that he was not aware there was an accounting issue. I have to go on the record to indicate that I disagree with that. As he indicated, Mr. Baker's CFO came to see me, after he discussed this issue with