July 2008 -- This year the Standing Committee on Public Account was quite busy. Since being elected as the committee's First Vice-Chair on November 13, 2007, I have been able to help guide the committee's studies at the weekly steering meetings. Being vice-chair has been an interesting and insightful experience.

During the fall, one major study that the committee brought closer to a conclusion was our investigation into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Pension and Insurance Administration issue. The Spring Session found the committee mostly reviewing and investigating individual audits released from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. What follows is a brief description of some of the issues that our committee studied.

Keeping the Border Open and Secure - Canada Border Services Agency

Canada has 1,269 ports of entry by sea, air and land that allow 96 million people to enter Canada each year. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) manages access to these ports of entry through its mandate to provide "integrated border services that support national security and public safety priorities and facilitate the free flow of persons and goods, including animals and plants."

The CBSA was created in December 2003 to integrate the front line border management and enforcement activities formerly performed by parts of the three other organizations: the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The audit noted that it was a challenge for the newly formed CBSA to create the needed management infrastructure after its creation while continuing to provide essential border services.

The CBSA has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and a staff of 12,800 people in the 2006-2007 fiscal year. This includes 5,400 border services officers who work at Canada's ports of entry. The border services officers approve the entry of $404.5 billion in imported goods annually.

The audit examined whether the CBSA's approach to border management is based on a threat and risk assessment, and whether it achieves the desired balance between an open border and a secure border for the entry of people and goods into Canada.

Human Resource Management - Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada

Human resource planning is a process that identifies current and future human resource needs for an organization to achieve its goals. This planning should serve as a link between human resources management and the organization' overall strategic plan.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) delivers on Canada's international agenda by carrying out the functions of leading and coordinating international policy-making for the government; promoting Canadian interests and expertise abroad; and assisting Canadian business and the public by providing trade, investment and consular services. The department has three distinct categories of employees: Canada-based non-rotational staff who generally work at DFAIT's headquarters; Canada-based rotational staff that can be required to rotate every two to four years to missions abroad; and locally engaged staff who work in Canada's missions abroad.

Given the complexity of the workforce of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, its international role, and the demographic challenges if faces, the audit stated that strategic planning and management of its human resources are critical to achieving its mandate. This audit looked at how well DFAIT carries out the planning of its human resources in addition to how it manages and supports its workforce. Instead of focusing only on DFAIT's Human Resources Branch, the audit took a department-wide approach to the audit.

According to the audit, 58% of the department's employees in the management category will be eligible for retirement by 2010. For all employee categories, 26% will be eligible to retire by 2010. The audit also noted that departures now outnumber new hires at DFAIT. These trends make the need for strategic human resources planning in the department very important.

Military Health Care - National Defence

The Department of National Defence (DND) is required to provide health care for Canadian Forces members. DND provides medical care to more than 63,500 Regular Force personnel on 37 military installations across Canada and abroad, which costs more than $500 million annually. There are approximately 3000 health care providers in DND. A private sector firm provides another 540 health care professionals to military clinics, which cost about $60 million in 2006-2007. DND provides private health care coverage through Blue Cross to access civilian health care services when members need access to medical facilities outside of the normal operating hours. This cost approximately $66 million in 2006-2007.

Several reviews conducted from 1997-1999 concluded that military health services had significant deficiencies, such as a lack of continuity of care, a lack of oversight mechanisms, deficiencies in the management of health records, and inconsistent access to and timeliness of health care. These findings led DND to launch its RX 2000 reform in 2000. This reform involves 22 initiatives that are planned for completion by 2011 and has an overall budget of $450 million.

The objectives of the audit by the Office of the Auditor General were to examine whether National Defence has the necessary structures, policies, and practices in place to provide assurance on the quality of health care that members of the Regular Force receive in Canada. (The audit chapter considered here did not examine National Defence's medical systems outside of Canada, including Afghanistan. The Office of the Auditor General's May 2008 report is scheduled to include a chapter on Support for Overseas Deployments.) The audit also examined the extent to which National Defence ensures that its health care providers are qualified and maintain their clinical skills. The audit did not examine the quality of the care that members receive.

Pension and Administration - Royal Canadian Mounted Police

(This section was included in the Spring Session 2007 summary, it is reprinted here as a refresher.)

In contrast to federal government employees, regular and civilian members of the RCMP have their own separate pension plan. They also have dedicated group life and disability benefits. The plans are administered by the RCMP's National Compensation Policy Centre (NCPC) in its Human Resources Branch.

In June 2005, a criminal investigation and an internal audit stemming from allegations made in 2003 discovered that the pension and insurance plans had been abused. Instances of nepotism, wasteful spending and managerial override of controls were also detected. The RCMP's Chief Human Resources Officer resigned and the Director of the NCPC was suspended and subsequently resigned.

The purpose of the Auditor General's audit was to determine whether or not the RCMP had responded adequately to the findings and recommendations of the internal audit and a criminal investigation conducted by the Ottawa Police Services. The auditors also looked into additional allegations that came into light during their audit and at whether or not the criminal investigation was conducted in a sufficiently independent manner.

Based on the severity of the issue, the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, called for an immediate investigation which recently produced an in-depth report. One of the key recommendations made by the chief investigator was completed on July 16^th when Minister Day appointed a task force that will make recommendations to improve management and accountability within the RCMP. The Members of the task force come from a range of experiences and backgrounds and will be independent of government.

You can be confident that this Prime Minister, and this government, is committed to ensuring that the RCMP is an effective and accountable national police force.

As a strong believer in fiscal responsibility and accountability, I continue to be pleased to represent the people of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale as First Vice-Chair on the Public Accounts Committee.