March 15, 2007 -- I am pleased to continue to be involved in one of the most active committees in Canada’s Parliament: the Public Accounts of the House of Commons. Our role is important to ensuring taxpayer’s dollars are spent wisely by their federal government. We take this role very seriously and I’m pleased to update you on some of the initiatives undertaken during the Fall 2006 Session of Parliament by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Commons.

What follows is a brief description of some of the main issues that the committee examined during the Fall Session:

Drafting of Reports to Parliament: For every Auditor General Report Chapter that the Public Accounts Committee examines and calls witnesses to testify, a report is written. These reports will usually contain recommendations by the Committee for the Government of Canada as well as the Government departments audited. This Session we worked together as a Committee to write reports for at least five different Chapters.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Treasury Board Secretariat: This study lasted several weeks and focused on the Secretariat’s responsibility for providing direction on financial management within the federal government. Through a number of recent controversies, such as the recent accounting for costs of the Firearms Program, the Committee had become concerned that Treasury Board Secretariat was not actively ensuring that departments followed its management policies.

In addition, with the passage of the Federal Accountability Act, deputy ministers are now accounting officers and as such are accountable before parliamentary committees for departmental administration. The Committee believes it is important to develop, in conjunction with the Secretariat, a protocol of how this new role will function.

Canadian Firearms Program (Chap 4, May 2006 Report): This audit followed-up on the 2002 audit of financial reporting and looked at the operations of the Canada Firearms Centre as a whole.

The Auditor General found that progress had been made in setting up a separate agency. However, the Committee is concerned that Parliament does not have adequate information about the performance of the Firearms Program in order to make informed decisions about its design, implementation and future. The Auditor General also raised several concerns about data quality. The Committee is worried about the quality of data and believes the Canadian Firearms Information System (CFIS) is useful only insofar as it contains reliable and accurate information.

Most importantly, the Committee learned that work on an IT project, called CFIS II, has been halted and is not being used, even though it will cost $90 million. The Committee is appalled that so much money will be spent on a system that appears to have not even been necessary.

The Committee recommended that it be kept informed of progress in implementing the Auditor General’s recommendations, actions to be taken to address data quality issues, and the costs of Canadian Firearms Information System.

Military Recruiting and Retention (Chap 2, May 2006 Report): Although the Committee was pleased that the Department of National Defence (the Department) has made progress in responding to a 2002 audit of its recruitment and retention of military personnel, it was concerned that more needs to be done -- and quickly.

The Government has announced plans to expand the size of the Regular Forces from its current level of 62,300 to 70,000 by 2010. In addition, the Canadian Forces (CF) is now deployed on active combat mission in Afghanistan. Problems in the recruitment process combined with a forecast increase in the numbers leaving the CF must therefore be addressed in a timely, effective manner.

The Committee noted that the Department has undertaken corrective measures and has recommended that it keep Parliament informed of its progress. It made twelve recommendations intended to assist the Department as it copes with the difficult challenges involved in recruiting and retaining a capable armed forces.

Relocating Members of the Canadian Forces, RCMP and Federal Public Service (Chap 5, November 2006 Report): The Integrated Relocations Program (IRP) assists members of the Canadian Forces, RCMP and Federal Public Service who have been transferred from one community to another due to work assignments. The IRP handles approximately 15,000 moves annually and in 2005 cost about $272 million.

This audit was conducted at the request of Public Accounts Committee in the 38^th Parliament. On the basis of audit results, the Auditor General had concluded that the Canadian Forces and RCMP/Government of Canada contracts for relocation services “were not tendered in a fair and equitable manner.” (see note below) 

The actions and practices of the private-sectors bidders were not examined as part of the audit.

As a strong believer in fiscal responsibility, I’m pleased to represent the people of Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale and all Canadians on the Public Accounts Committee.

During the Spring 2007 Session we will continue to push for accountability and integrity in how your tax dollars are spent.