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Results: 121 - 135 of 1164
Brenda Lucki
View Brenda Lucki Profile
Brenda Lucki
2021-06-02 17:03
As the minister alluded to, I was given a strict mandate to modernize the RCMP and to transform its culture. Therefore, we've been engaging with numerous external and independent bodies and individuals to address issues around workplace culture.
Of note, first of all, we have the RCMP management advisory board, which was established by the government in 2019. They are there to provide an external advisory function to me on the management and administration of the RCMP. It was given a specific responsibility to provide guidance and advice on workplace culture, and that's the very issue that Justice Bastarache outlines in his report.
Since its establishment, the board has challenged the RCMP's thinking and provided thoughtful advice and guidance on a number of areas. Most importantly, it's been instrumental in the development of the independent centre for harassment resolution, and they had a specific task force just for that.
There are several initiatives I've launched in the past three years that have brought culture and management modernization. We've been engaging groups, individuals and experts, including the Association of Black Law Enforcers. I have a commissioner's diversity advisory committee. I have a national indigenous advisory committee. I have a lived experience indigenous committee. I have the Government of Canada joint employment equity committee, the Serving with Pride group, the Federal Black Employee Caucus and the Women's Executive Network.
With that, there has been a lot of consultation, and the EDI strategy provides that clear structure for the concrete actions under way to address racism and discrimination, and to promote that inclusion in the RCMP workforce and how the organization will provide service to communities.
We're trying to hit as many people who are impacted by the decisions we make as possible, so that our decisions are better decisions and more in tune with those people.
View Lianne Rood Profile
CPC (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses appearing today.
Mr. Moffet, you were saying that when you set protocols, you consult with stakeholders. I'm wondering if that's with actual farmers. Do you go out onto the farm, and have you been on a farm to see what farmers do right now?
John Moffet
View John Moffet Profile
John Moffet
2021-06-01 15:47
Have I been on a farm? Not recently, but I'm not the one doing the work.
Initially, we undertook a survey to identify activities that should be the highest priority for us in developing protocols. That was—
View Lianne Rood Profile
CPC (ON)
Was it consulting with farmers? I'm sorry to interrupt you. I just want to know, was it with farmers, or who did you mean by stakeholders?
John Moffet
View John Moffet Profile
John Moffet
2021-06-01 15:48
Yes, it was with farmers, agricultural academics and representatives from all of the major agricultural industry associations. It's particularly important, in the context of agriculture, to ensure that we have input from across the country, because agricultural practices and requirements vary significantly from province to province.
View Francis Drouin Profile
Lib. (ON)
In another part of budget 2021, we announced some dollars to go towards helping farmers make some of that land more profitable by keeping wetlands and keeping forestry on land, and I think we mentioned using a reverse auction. Have we started to think about what that will look like shortly given the objectives of that particular program?
Tara Shannon
View Tara Shannon Profile
Tara Shannon
2021-06-01 15:59
I think the question on the reverse auction is for me.
The short answer is that the work is still ongoing, so the details still need to be worked out. As with any of the programs described, we're going to need to work with the stakeholders to define that.
View Yves Perron Profile
BQ (QC)
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I thank the witnesses for taking the time to be with us today. We are very grateful to them.
Ms. Shannon, I'd like to give you the opportunity to finish your last response, because you were forced to answer in a few seconds. I'd like to hear the long answer, please.
Tara Shannon
View Tara Shannon Profile
Tara Shannon
2021-06-01 16:00
Thank you very much.
There isn't too much more for me to add, except I note that the budget did identify up to $60 million to support a number of initiatives on farms and agricultural lands, including a reverse auction. A reverse auction is a way for the Government of Canada to support farmers who wish to set aside lands for wetlands, habitat conservation or grassland redevelopment, among other reasons.
Details do need to be worked out. The budget was just announced and we're pleased, but we have to continue with some work to define that.
View Alistair MacGregor Profile
NDP (BC)
Okay. Understood. Thank you so much.
Mr. Parry, at an earlier meeting last month, one of our witnesses was Danone, a big multinational company that is investing a considerable sum of its own funding into regenerative agriculture. They have received feedback from the farmers involved, who have reported lower input costs, better yields and overall soil health. There's an accumulating body of evidence out there showing that this is not only going to be good for our environment, but it's also going to benefit our farmers' bottom line.
Is there any kind of data similar to what Danone is engaging in that AAFC is also using to help develop some of these programs? I know that farmers know a lot of this already, but there's always room for improvement in any kind of a system you're operating in, and that knowledge transfer I think is a really important part of it. Is there anything you can contribute on that?
Matt Parry
View Matt Parry Profile
Matt Parry
2021-06-01 16:12
I think my answer would be a fairly general one in the sense that the government has made it very clear that it intends to work closely with farm groups, producer organizations, the food industry and other stakeholders to very much explore these opportunities and look for ways to address environmental issues, such as climate change, while at the same time expanding and growing businesses. I would make the point that there have been several references to the living labs work, which is intended to bring together different perspectives and really look at those projects or activities that can really provide a win-win-win scenario.
I'll just check if any of my colleagues want to elaborate on that.
Warren Goodlet
View Warren Goodlet Profile
Warren Goodlet
2021-06-01 16:13
I would just add briefly that, as part of the living labs, there's also looking at the socio-economic factors of it, including the economic barriers and benefits that the farmer sees. Therefore, there is a bottom-line economic aspect to that work, as well as the scientific angle to the living labs. Both sides are being looked at there.
Karen Hogan
View Karen Hogan Profile
Karen Hogan
2021-05-27 11:06
Madam Chair, thank you for this opportunity to present the results of our audit report on procuring complex IT solutions.
Joining me are Carol McCalla, the principal responsible for the audit, and Joanna Murphy, the director responsible for the audit.
Procurement is often a key component of major IT initiatives. It is inherently complex because of the frequent changes in technology and business needs, the ambitious timelines, and the need for technical expertise. The government must engage with end users and suppliers to determine their needs while also being fair and transparent. The government currently has about 21 large IT procurements underway, valued at over $6.6 billion.
Our audit examined the procurement practices for three complex IT initiatives involving the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, and Shared Services Canada. We looked at whether they were on track to support the achievement of business outcomes and whether they upheld fairness, openness and transparency in those procurement processes.
Overall, we found that the organizations made progress toward adopting agile procurement practices for large IT systems. For example, they applied new approaches, such as testing prototypes before committing to long-term contracts. They also engaged with end users and private sector suppliers early and often to define business needs. By engaging more closely with those who will ultimately use the system, the procurement teams can better understand whether a proposed system will be effective before awarding any contracts.
However, to pave the way for further improvements, the organizations will need to build on this progress. They will need to better train procurement officers, especially on how to apply new, agile procurement practices. We found that the guidance and training on these approaches was limited or non-existent. We noted that other jurisdictions, such as the United States or the United Kingdom, provided their employees with more comprehensive guidance when rolling out their new agile approaches in procurement.
In 2018, we examined the implementation of the Phoenix pay system. Following its hearing on the matter, this committee recommended that all IT transformation projects should have independent, external oversight and that senior management should consider the interests of key stakeholders.
In the current audit, we found that the governance mechanisms for the three complex IT procurements could be strengthened. At the end of our audit, we saw that the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat set up a new governance committee to support the departmental deputy heads who are responsible for modernizing core services. This continued engagement and oversight of senior representatives will be essential for these initiatives.
As the government increases its collaboration with suppliers when applying agile practices, it will need more robust tools to promote fairness and transparency. We found that Public Services and Procurement Canada and Shared Services Canada made limited use of data analytics to identify potential procurement integrity issues.
Finally, we found that it was not always clear how potential fairness issues were resolved. There was also a missed opportunity to better use the fairness monitoring program to uphold openness and transparency within procurements.
We made five recommendations and the organizations have agreed with all of them.
Madam Chair, this concludes my opening remarks. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you.
View Rachael Harder Profile
CPC (AB)
Just switching gears slightly here, in your report you indicate that:
We concluded that Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, and Employment and Social Development Canada....did not provide sufficient guidance or training to staff and did not effectively engage stakeholders in their procurement initiatives.
That is directly from your report.
Can you comment on further on what you mean by they “did not effectively engage stakeholders in their procurement initiatives”? What could have been done better?
Karen Hogan
View Karen Hogan Profile
Karen Hogan
2021-05-27 11:32
One of our significant findings from the Phoenix work that we did back in 2018 was the lack of involvement with end-users and keeping in sight, as the project moved forward, the actual business needs and how the IT solution would be used in the day to day.
In the procurements we looked at in the Next Generation one, we saw a lot of engagement with end-users. If we compare that then with the workplace communications services project, DND was only engaged at the end. As a result, the procurement that occurred there did not meet all of the needs of the department. Now additional costs and other contracts are going to be needed in order to give them all the functionality that the department wanted.
It isn't about focusing in on timelines, but about focusing in on business outcomes. That's where agile procurement plays a really big role in complex IT. It is keeping the outcomes and the business needs in mind throughout the entire process.
Results: 121 - 135 of 1164 | Page: 9 of 78

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