Government Operations committee  I'm not going to disclose what I have or have not seen. All I can tell you at this point is that officials were at the public accounts committee yesterday—

Government Operations committee  Well, I've not yet seen areas where we've in fact taken money out of a certain area and simply left it without money. I'm not aware of any.

Government Operations committee  Right. What I've seen in almost every situation I've come across and what people have asked me about is this. For example, we've taken money out of this situation, and yet I've consistently seen in the government announcements that we are simply redirecting the funding. Instead of paying lobbyists to lobby the government to get more money in order to lobby, for example, we wanted to have actual delivery of programs.

Government Operations committee  Thank you.

Government Operations committee  I do, and I'm not exactly sure how much I can say. That's the problem with briefings. You don't know what's public and what's private anymore.

Government Operations committee  I'm always cautious before I speak on some of these issues because I don't want to jeopardize any contractual arrangements that may or may not be in place. Certainly, when we're talking about procurement, the government's first position is that it needs to be done on an open and competitive basis in order to get the best price possible.

Government Operations committee  Well, I don't want to state what the report is going to say. I want to say that the government has made considerable progress in implementing accrual accounting in many aspects of financial planning and reporting. As a trend, we see that happening in the Government of Canada. The federal budget and the summary financial statements of the Government of Canada are now all prepared on a full accrual basis.

Government Operations committee  Sometimes you have to move quickly and almost immediately on certain things, because as you know, for example, when you're changing from a right-hand drive to a left-hand drive, you want to do it all in one day as opposed to two or three separate days. And that needs to be, in a way, understood here.

Government Operations committee  I'm going to let Mr. St-Jean answer that, but I do want to reiterate that it is clear that there are distinct advantages to the accrual basis, and I don't think there's going to be much of an argument on that, comparing it simply to the cash accounting or the near cash accounting that is done.

Government Operations committee  Yes, I'm familiar with that. Thank you for that summary. It's a good summary for all committee members to hear. The issue of expenditure management is one that I am particularly concerned about, not only because of my experience here in the Treasury Board but also as a result of my role in my previous department.

Government Operations committee  Thank you. The issue of Bill C-11, or the whistle-blower's legislation, I think is important. In speaking with my staff about that particular legislation, I understand there still has to be some consultation with stakeholders, including trade unions and management individuals. We are committed to moving that through as quickly as possible, but I don't want to unilaterally impose a program or a framework that the trade unions, for example, are not happy with.

Government Operations committee  That's exactly the question I asked when I became the minister of this department, President of the Treasury Board--how our procurement policy actually works. The secretary very kindly explained exactly that. Essentially the general rule is that there is a competitive process. That is the main goal of all procurement.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madame, for the questions. I'm going to let the Comptroller General answer that, by and large. I do want to say that I certainly saw your recommendations, as a committee, along with the Auditor General's recommendations. I think there is much merit to them. I was briefed extensively on that issue perhaps about a week ago, about the various types of accounting and the problems with each type.

Government Operations committee  I think that's a good question. Some of the provisions of the Federal Accountability Act did in fact come into effect upon royal assent--for example, the designation of deputy ministers and deputy heads as accounting officers; the Director of Public Prosecutions Act, which was a very complex portion of the act that I was involved with in my prior portfolio; and the new mandate for the Auditor General to follow the money to grant and contribution recipients.

Government Operations committee  All I can say is that when I came into the department a little over a month ago, I reviewed these matters. I've been reviewing these for the past month. I'm satisfied that the department officials are moving in a timely fashion. I'm not in a position to release any kind of a schedule.