Good morning, Mr. Vice-Chair. We are delighted to be meeting the members of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates. As you said, Simon Kennedy is here with me.
My opening statement pertains to the 2009-2010 Supplementary or B Estimates for the Privy Council Office. Because we have a number of separate items, I am going to present them without further introduction.
The PCO is asking for $16.9 million to cover eight items. The first amount, which is $7.3 million, will be used to cover the PCO's extra operating costs. Additional resources outside the PCO's reference levels are needed to permanently eliminate the chronic pressures on the department. The funds will help the PCO continue to promptly provide the Prime Minister's Office and ministers in its portfolio with the advice, services and support they need. The funds will be used for the following purposes:
– Additional human resources to advise and provide services to the .
– Support for the Prime Minister and his Cabinet before or during activities in which the Prime Minister will be taking part in Canada. This includes broadcasting, lighting and recording services, equipment transportation costs, travel and overtime. It also includes administrative and logistical support, including secure voice and data transmission, enabling the Prime MInister to carry out his duties while he is traveling.
– Increased use of translation services. More communications products are being distributed in order to provide Canadians with as much information as possible on the work the Prime Minister and the Cabinet do on their behalf.
– Costs related to office space, including one-time costs incurred to purchase secure communications equipment, furniture and equipment, and the cost of ongoing delivery of administrative ministerial support services.
– Provision of communications-related advice, services and support to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
– Additional costs associated with support for ministers' offices. Any additional costs would normally be absorbed by the department, which is the case for more departments that have only one minister's office. PCO funds five ministers' offices, including the new office of the. PCO cannot absorb all of the costs with its current parliamentary allocation.
[English]
The second request, in the amount of $3.9 million, is to support the implementation and coordination of a government-wide communications strategy for EAP.
PCO has a central role in the coordination and management of government communications as determined by the Prime Minister and cabinet. To help ensure the success of EAP, a fully integrated, coordinated, and consistent communications effort is required to support the two-year economic stimulus plan.
The government has a responsibility to make sure Canadians are informed of programs and initiatives they can take advantage of under the EAP. The Government of Canada has directed PCO to support the implementation and coordination of an integrated, government-wide communications strategy for the EAP. Specifically, the key goals of the EAP communications strategy are to identify EAP initiatives through common, whole-of-government communications, to provide useful information so that citizens can fully access benefits, and to account to Canadians for spending on EAP initiatives.
As such, PCO has developed and is overseeing the implementation of an integrated cross-government communications strategy for the EAP that includes the development, implementation, coordination, and monitoring of communications activities for the EAP; the production and dissemination of a guide to EAP benefits and programs; advice, coordination, and support related to the development, implementation, and evaluation of EAP advertising campaigns; the development, design, and daily maintenance of the EAP website, and the implementation of new media communications tools and activities; the development of an overarching brand, including the development and distribution of guidelines to assist departments in using the brand in all applications such as broadcast media, web, and print advertisements, as well as signage; and the review and coordination of public opinion research on the views of Canadians on the EAP and branding strategy.
The vast majority of measures contained in the EAP are temporary, with projects and initiatives to be delivered by March 31, 2011. As a result, all EAP communications activities related to this strategy will be phased out on or before that date.
The third request, in the amount of $3.1 million, is to fund the ongoing activities of the commission of inquiry into the investigation of the bombing of Air India flight 182.
Additional funding is required in 2009-10 in order to fund the commission's operations until late 2009 or early 2010 as a result of delays in the production of the report. In order to provide useful recommendations to the Governor in Council, particular care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the narrative and the practicality and appropriateness of any proposed solutions. The final page count of the report was also reduced from 6,000 pages to 4,000 pages.
[Translation]
The fourth request, for $2.1 million, will serve the Public Service Renewal Secretariat. Subsequent to the horizontal strategic review of central agencies responsible for human resources, PCO's activities related to Public Service renewal were consolidated with those of the working group that previously reported to the Public Service Agency of Canada. The Secretariat supports the clerk in implementing Public Service renewal as a key management priority.
The fifth request, for $700,000, will be used for the internal inquiry into the treatment by Canadian officials of Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad Abou-Elmaati and Muayyed Nureddin. The Commissioner submitted this confidential public report to the Governor-in-Council on October 20, 2008. Some sections of the public report were not released on October 20, causing a dispute between the Minister of Public Safety and the Commissioner. The Commissioner's mandate has been extended. Negotiations are ongoing between officials of the internal inquiry and the Minister of Public Safety to resolve the dispute.
[English]
The sixth request is in the amount of $7,000 for the program of Canada's youth employment strategy. This strategy, presented in budget 2009, is the government's key program to help young people. Due to the current labour market disruptions, it was expected that it would be harder for many young Canadians to find a summer job. An amount of $41,000 was received this year through supplementary estimates (A). However, as some eligible departments have declined the funding, PCO was entitled to receive $7,000 in addition to the originally allocated amount.
The seventh request in the amount of $200,000 is a transfer of funds to Foreign Affairs and International Trade to provide support to departmental staff located abroad under the Canada-Australia exchange program. In September 2007 the and the Prime Minister of Australia signed an agreement to create a new joint public policy initiative in order to enrich the dialogue and relationships between the two countries. PCO is responsible for the development of program policy and management of the participants on exchange. Foreign Affairs and International Trade will provide all services related to the relocation, travel, and housing of Canadian participants under the common services abroad policy and will be reimbursed by the PCO. An amount of $200,000 is being transferred under supplementary estimates from PCO to Foreign Affairs and International Trade for that purpose.
The last request in the amount of $4,000 is a transfer to the Treasury Board Secretariat to support the operational activities of three national employment equity councils, the National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities, the National Council of Aboriginal Federal Employees, and the National Council of Visible Minorities in the Federal Public Service.
In closing, I would like to thank you for giving me this time to inform you of the ongoing initiatives in the 2009-10 supplementary estimates (B). We would be pleased to respond to your questions.
:
Well, Mr. Chair, there are two different kinds of exemptions. One is, broadly speaking, the communications policy for the government.
I must open a parenthesis here. I am not the lead for that; that would be the Treasury Board, if we speak in detail.
Generally speaking, the communications policy sets out the graphic standards that the government follows when it communicates: the Canada wordmark, the signature of a given department. If you're International Trade or if you're Transport, there's a very standard signature that you're all familiar with. The standards basically say those are what are to be used.
There have been occasions in the past, and now is a good example, when the government for a variety of reasons has wanted to use a different logo or brand because there is a particular initiative or set of initiatives that the government is undertaking, and they want to make sure Canadians can see that they're all part of this one measure. The way the policy works is that, generally speaking, the graphics standards are the ones set out in the policy. If the government wants to add an additional logo, they get an exemption so that they can introduce an additional logo. That's one piece.
There's another piece that relates to the graphic standards for the Internet. To be quite honest, those are very technical. It's a question of the number of pixels and so on. I don't have the document handy, but I can say that the technical standards are quite precise in terms of the number of pixels used. It literally is that detailed. Google Maps and some of this technology are actually newer than some of those technical standards, so we seek an exemption from the technical standards around what the home pages are to look like.
Mrs. MacPherson, good morning. It is always a pleasure to see you before the Committee.
Mr. Kennedy, good morning. It hasn't been very long since you were with us last.
If I may, Mrs. MacPherson, my question is for Mr. Kennedy.
I admit that I'm having a bit of trouble understanding the roles and the different measures you have taken regarding advertising as far as the Economic Action Plan is concerned. You were here a couple of weeks ago with Ms. d'Auray, who, as you said, is Secretary of the Treasury Board.
Ms. d'Auray said, after I asked three or four questions, that there is no government-wide planning in connection with the government's Economic Action Plan. I have her evidence in front of me, and that is what she said. She was very clear and explained to us that most of the communication initiatives are an integral part of each department's and agency's programs.
At no time did you set the facts straight. However, you did tell us that the Privy Council "has prepared a signage guide that the departments must follow when they make signage decisions", regarding the type of signage used and so on.
However, at the beginning of her statement, Mrs. MacPherson said that there is a a second request for $3.9 million that will be used to support the implementation and coordination of a government-wide communication strategy for the Economic Action Plan. She expressed the view that there is an integrated government-wide communication strategy for the Economic Action Plan.
Explain to me why you did not mention that two weeks ago even though I tried to get you to say it. We are finding out today that there is a government-wide communication strategy.
:
Thank you for the question. I could perhaps begin by explaining the roles and responsibilities of departments and deputy ministers and the role and responsibility of the Privy Council Office regarding communications.
Obviously, and it's the same with policy, ministers, departments and deputy ministers are responsible for their own programs. The minister responsible for infrastructure is the minister responsible for the program and the minister responsible for developing all communications , that is, preparing press releases and advertising, etc.
However, for several years, coordination of the department's activities has been one of the roles of the Privy Council Office. I myself manage a team of a hundred people who have been there a long time helping coordinate departments' communications. It makes sense. For example, if the Prime Minister announces something very important, we don't want other ministers making a different announcement the same day in the same city.
There is therefore a role to coordinate activities. It is also important to ensure that departments work together as a team. That is the role of the Privy Council Office. The Privy Council Office is not responsible for communications, but it does have a coordinating role to ensure that everyone is organized.
I have my own team, but because the Economic Action Plan requires more advertising, more communication activities, it was necessary to get some help from more people for a set period in order to ensure coordination. That is the difference between the two.
If the members of the Committee are interested, I can give you an idea of how the money we are talking about today is spent.
:
There are several aspects to coordination. First, the aim is to give advice on a given subject to the department that wants to make announcements. The departments prepare the press releases and so on, and the Privy Council Office works with the departments to ensure that everything is in order. As far as the announcements go, we work with the departments to coordinate the events.
Second, there is the question of surveys and research on public opinion. There is a central process in the government for doing that. The goal of that process is to ensure that not a lot is spent, that the amounts spent across the government are reasonable for Canadians. There is a process for choosing the companies that help us with these surveys. The role of the Privy Council Office is to ensure that all departments follow that process. The process is set by the government. Everyone has to follow it, and the Privy Council Office plays a role in that regard.
Third, the Privy Council Office plans a role in analysing media repoerts, what the media are saying. A group in the Privy Council Office analyses media coverage and submits reports to the government on the content.
Fourth, there is also the Web site. Normally, each department is responsible for its own Web site. In the case of the Economic Action Plan, there is a central Web site for the government. All departments provide content for the Web site. Each department produces its own documents, but the Privy Council Office manages the Web site. This is another way of coordinating communications. So the Privy Council Office coordinates announcements, advertising, public opinion research and, in the case of the Economic Action Plan, it also handles the Web site. That is a role it has played for a long time. There is nothing unusual about the fact that for a long time, the Privy Council Office has played that role in order to ensure that government communication is coordinated and consistent. I don't know if that answers your question. Those are the different aspects of our role.
Good morning to all of you from the Privy Council Office, which is also referred to as the Prime Minister's department.
We are talking about $4 million for a communication plan that includes, based on what I just heard, $200,000 for surveys. I am trying to understand. The Prime Minister's Office has a role to play, for sure. It is an institution in its own right, no matter who is Prime Minister. But what are we talking about? Self-promotion? Why do we need a communication plan that costs $4 million or almost?
Statistics came in in our western world as a political reality with the end of monarchies and the rise of republics. Elections mean we now choose our leaders, in most western countries, in fact in all. It took political mathematics, and they became what we now call statistics. They are used to determine more or less where we are going, how to respond to the public, what the needs are, and so on. I understand that. That is why there are surveys today. We known that departments need to determine where they stand in relation to the public on certain matters, specific subjects, things that need to be done, and I understand that, but the Prime Minister's Office...
Can we see the communication plan with our own eyes? Why does the Prime Minister need $4 million?
Mr. Kennedy, you have expertise; we, however, do not. It is very difficult, especially for someone who, like me, is visual, to understand how, exactly, departments' expenditures under Canada's Economic Action Plan are different from PCO's expenditures.
Perhaps you have already been asked the question. The communication plan you produced in the Privy Council Office has to be accompanied by an action plan, a plan. Could you table before this Committee the action plan and its objectives, expected results and performance indicators? We want something detailed so that we can track you. And that document must certainly contain expenditure breakdowns that we could get.
You are telling us that your $3.9 million in expenditures includes $1.2 million in miscellaneous expenditures for other activities. What are those expenditures exactly? We have to be able to track you. I doubt that you are here to hide anything from us. It's just that I want to understand, but we have no document, nothing.
Today we received a document which shows that the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada's Web site lists Treasury Board approvals of funding for the government's advertising plan. According to that document, the Canada Revenue Agency has allocated $7 million for a campaign on the Economic Action Plan – home initiatives. Then, the Department of Finance has allocated $10 million for a campaign on the Economic Action Plan and $2 million for the Economic Action Plan Web site. The Department of Human Resources and Skills Development has allocated $7 million for the Economic Action Plan. The Office of Infrastructure of Canada has allocated $8 million for the Economic Action Plan. And we have just been asked for another $4 million almost because a committee has to coordinate it all. Yet there is no breakdown of the expenditures.
Can you see why we are skeptical? We are entitled to wonder. I therefore ask you if it is possible to table all of that before the Committee and even come back and explain. That would be greatly appreciated.
:
Thank you very much for the question.
Mr. Chair, I believe the website was launched earlier this year—I don't have the exact timeline in front of me—with fairly basic information. When the decision was made to try to have a more coordinated approach to communicating with the public about the economic action plan, the feeling was that the website would be an important means of doing that.
The decision was made to have the website serve a couple of purposes. One of them was certainly to try to provide as much useful information as possible to citizens about the programs and services under the economic action plan, and to try to do that in a way that was client-focused. Rather than an individual Canadian having to wade through the budget or look through a directory of government departments, he'd be able to go to the site and very quickly find things that were relevant to him.
The nice thing about Internet technology is that you can then link him directly to the department that's offering the program. The guides to programs and services are one of the most popular features on the site. That's one of the big blocks, and that was one of the first the Privy Council Office worked to build.
The other major component of the communications effort is about being accountable to the public and accountable to citizens and so on, and so the second major thrust was to develop the geomap technology. The idea was that for any stimulus measure that could be pinpointed to a fixed location—an infrastructure project, that sort of thing—the effort would be made to map those and take advantage of this new technology, like Google Maps, so that Canadians could go to the site, ask what was happening in their community, and click to see it.
Again, with Internet technology, the idea was that as projects got under way, you could put that information on the site, you could certainly update as time went on, and that sort of thing.
So those are really the two major thrusts of the website.
As I mentioned to the committee earlier, the content for all this comes from departments, but there has to be a central body amalgamating that content and presenting it in a useful fashion to citizens, and the Privy Council Office is playing that role.
In terms of the costs, I touched on that earlier. In terms of the people managing the content, quite apart from the technical people who manage the hardware, we have authority for eight additional staff on a temporary basis for two years, whom I have borrowed from other government departments in a sense, who are helping to manage the website. And so the majority of the costs for the content management is going into salary.
We have a relatively modest amount of money in operating, and that's largely to help manage e-mail traffic. When people write in and ask questions, we have an agreement with Service Canada to make sure they're directed to the right department. And we have a small amount of money we've used for audiovisual equipment when there's an event and you need to take a picture, that sort of thing.
So most of the money has gone into borrowing people from other government departments to manage this on a short-term basis.
The technology, such as Google Maps, is technology we've essentially received for free. We're using open-source technology to run those aspects of the website.
:
There are a number of items listed here for the $7.3 million, so maybe I will take one example.
We have the Prime Minister's tour group, which is actually attached to my branch. These individuals go out with the Prime Minister on all of his domestic and international flights or trips. They are the ones who actually set up the stage, put up the drapes, do all the recording, make sure the teleprompter works--always trying to put the very professional face on our Prime Minister when he is acting as the head of our government.
Over time, because of the increases in travel costs and in the increases in cargo and freight costs, we've had a chronic lack of funds to cover the overtime for these individuals. There are only 13 of them. It sounds like a lot of people, except that there are groups of people. For example, if he's going to go to three different sites, then one group will go to the first site and another one will go to the second, so they are leap-frogging. So there's an overtime expenditure for which we have not had sufficient funds but which we've been covering with the lapses.
It's the same thing with freight and cargo. Those expenditures have gone up. So to maintain the same type of service, the total for that is about $1 million. That's one example of a chronic problem that has developed over time, and we have been able to cover off that expense with the lapsed funds. But as I had mentioned earlier, those lapses are disappearing as we become more proactive about staffing.
:
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'm not a regular member of this committee but I have been impressed with the clarity of the report that our witnesses have brought us.
I think there is one point that may have been missed, and I'm not going to ask a question as much as make a comment.
In the second section, it talks about the $3.9 million, and repeatedly throughout the presentation it talks about the fact that this is a two-year plan, a temporary plan, and at the end of the two years, much of this will be wound down again. I think that point may have been missed.
The second thing I'd like to say is that when you consider the billions of dollars that were included in the economic action plan—and this is in addition to normal budgeting—and you consider the short timeline in which all staff have had to implement these projects, quite frankly, I think we should be fairly proud of the fact that there's a very small amount of money being utilized to implement this very aggressive action plan that will go a long way in terms of addressing much of the economic challenge our country is facing.
So I want to go on the record as saying that I hope our staff aren't being overburdened by the kind of work we're expecting them to do. I want to give them a hearty vote of thanks for their work at all levels, the PCO and on down.
Thanks, Mr. Chair. I'll share the rest of my time.
:
Fair enough. I'll address this so everyone understands how the process works.
If there is consensus in the committee, then what could happen is that the motion moved by the member for Calgary West could be moved by another member. However, if there is not consensus on that, then we have a difficulty, because the member for Calgary West is serving as your vice-chair.
What would normally happen is that the vice-chair would step aside to allow the second vice-chair to step into that position. In this case, that would be Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin is not present today, and we have Ms. Chow in his place. Then another option could be, for example, that the chair goes ahead and says he gives notice to the clerk that he, as vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, appoints--fill in a name--as acting chair while the motion moved by the member of Parliament for Calgary West is dealt with, signed by the member for Calgary West. That's one way we could deal with it.
You can see it's complicated. Of course, if you wanted to.... I'm just laying out the options for the members in terms of the complexity of the situation. Bear with me, please, Madame Bourgeois, as I describe it all.
Then we also have the motion moved by Ms. Martha Hall Findlay. I think in the interest of time, because I don't want to go past 5:30, what I will do, if the committee is all right with that, is allow my motion to be tabled to the next meeting, because it's complicated in terms of how we deal with it, and move forward with Ms. Martha Hall Findlay's if she so wishes to move it.