About
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(c), the Committee’s mandate includes primarily the study of:
- the format and content of all estimates documents (i.e., main estimates, supplementary estimates, departmental plans and departmental results reports); and
- the effectiveness, management, and expenditure plans of:
- central departments and agencies;
- new information and communication technologies adopted by the government;
- cross-departmental mandates, including programs delivered by more than one department or agency;
- Crown corporations and agencies that have not been specifically referred to another standing committee; and
- statutory programs, tax expenditures, loan guarantees, contingency funds and private foundations deriving the majority of their funding from the Government of Canada.
The Committee is mandated to examine and conduct studies related to the following organizations:
Central Departments and Agencies
- Privy Council Office/Prime Minister’s Office
- Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
- Shared Services Canada
Organizations Related to Human Resources Matters
- Canada School of Public Service
- Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board
- Public Servants Disclosure Protection Tribunal Canada
- Public Service Commission
Crown Corporations
- Canada Lands Company Limited
- Public Sector Pension Investment Board
- Canada Post Corporation
- Defence Construction (1951) Limited (Canada)
- National Capital Commission
- Old Port of Montréal Corporation Inc.
- Parc Downsview Park Inc.
Other Organizations
- Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat
- Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)
- Office of the Governor General’s Secretary
- Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer
- Office of the Procurement Ombud
- Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada
Following its creation, the committee undertook initiatives that examined how to improve the estimates process. Consequently, in 2003, it released a report entitled Meaningful Scrutiny: Practical Improvements to the Estimates Process. Other committee reports on the estimates include Strengthening Parliamentary Scrutiny of Estimates and Supply in 2012 and Improving Transparency and Parliamentary Oversight of the Government’s Spending Plans in 2019.
Other studies undertaken and hearings held by the committee in recent years include the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring veterans in the public service, the Greening Government Strategy, the hiring process in the public service, the Phoenix pay system, the federal procurement process, the review of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act, and the future of the Canada Post Corporation.
The committee has examined various documents in the estimates process and the annual reports tabled by the organizations relating to its mandate. In addition, it has studied votes in the estimates that have been referred to it.
In the execution of its functions, each committee is normally assisted by a committee clerk, a committee assistant, and one or more analysts. Occasional assistance is also provided by legislative clerks and lawyers from the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel. These individuals are non-partisan and serve all members of the committee and representatives of all parties equally.
Committee Clerk
The clerk performs their duties and responsibilities under the direction of the committee and its Chair. As an expert in the rules of the House of Commons, the clerk may be requested to give advice to the Chair and members of the committee should a question of procedure arise. The clerk is the coordinator, organizer and liaison officer for the committee, and as such, is in frequent contact with Members’ staff. The clerk is also responsible for inviting witnesses and dealing with all the details regarding their appearance before the committee.
Committee Assistant
The committee assistant provides a wide range of specialized administrative services for the organization of committee meetings and the publishing of documents on the committee’s website. The committee assistant works with the clerk to meet the needs of the committee.
Committee Analyst
The Library of Parliament’s analysts, who are subject-matter experts, provide authoritative, substantive, and timely research, analysis and information to all members of the committee. They are part of the committee’s institutional memory and are a unique resource for parliamentarians. Supported by research librarians, the analysts work individually or in multidisciplinary teams.
Analysts can prepare briefing notes on the subjects being examined, detailed study plans, lists of proposed witnesses, analyses of an issue with a list of suggested questions, background papers, draft reports, news releases, and formal correspondence.
OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE AS REQUIRED
Parliamentary Counsel
Within the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, parliamentary counsel (Legislation) are available to assist Members who are not in Cabinet with the preparation of private Members’ bills or of amendments to government bills or other bills.
At various stages of the legislative process, Members may propose amendments to bills. Amendments may first be proposed at the committee stage, during a committee’s clause-by-clause review of a bill. Amendments may also be proposed at the report stage, once a bill returns to the House. Once a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the parliamentary counsel (Legislation) responsible for drafting the amendments for bill.
Legislative Clerk
The legislative clerk serves all members of the committee as a specialist of the process by which a bill becomes law. They are available to give, upon request from Members and their staff, advice on the admissibility of amendments when bills are referred to committee. The legislative clerk organizes the amendments into packages for committee stage, reviews all the committee amendments for procedural admissibility and prepares draft rulings for the Chair.
During clause-by-clause consideration of bills in committee, a legislative clerk is in attendance to assist the committee with any procedural issues that may arise. The legislative clerk can also provide Members with advice regarding the procedural admissibility of report stage amendments. When a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the legislative clerk assigned to the bill.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is an officer of Parliament created by the Parliament of Canada Act who supports Parliament by providing analysis, including analysis of macroeconomic and fiscal policy, for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability.
The Parliament of Canada Act also provides the PBO with a mandate to, if requested by a committee, estimate the financial cost of any proposal over which Parliament has jurisdiction. Certain committees, including the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, can also request research and analyses of the nation’s finances or economy, or of the estimates.
Further information on the PBO may be found at: http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/.
Some notable committee reports tabled in the 44th Parliament include:
- Report 22 – Canada’s Postal Service: A Lifeline for Rural and Remote Communities
The committee conducted a study on the loss of postal services in Canada’s rural and remote communities. It examined the significant challenges facing the Canada Post Corporation and how they have affected services in these communities. The committee concluded that “Canada Post and the Canadian postal system are at a crossroads” and must quickly adapt to a new competitive landscape. - Report 20 – Changeover of the Public Service Health Care Plan from Sun Life to Canada Life
The committee examined the transition to a new plan administrator for the Public Service Health Care Plan after several issues were reported by beneficiaries and their dependants. The committee made several recommendations to resolve these issues and avoid repeating them in the future. - Report 3 – Supplying Canada’s Armed Forces and Coast Guard with the Right Equipment: An Interim Report
This interim report summarized what witnesses said about the state of federal defence procurement and their proposals to improve the system.
Although they did not result in reports, the committee also conducted studies into:
- the resources of the offices of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and the Procurement Ombud;
- the purchase of a new official residence for the Consul General of Canada in New York;
- the bilingual status of certain post offices in the Greater Montreal Area;
- the federal grants and contributions process;
- federal regulatory modernization initiatives;
- federal consulting contracts award to McKinsey & Company;
- the outsourcing of federal contracts;
- the results of an internal Global Affairs Canada audit;
- the replacement of Canada’s P-8 Poseidon by the CP-140 Aurora; and
- diversity in federal procurement.
In total, the committee held 161 meetings during the 44th parliament, making it the second-most active standing committee after the Standing Committee on Finance.