Recommendation 1
The Office of the Auditor General publishes in its annual departmental performance report the
percentage of recommendations implemented by individual departments.
Recommendation 1 is the responsibility of the Office of the Auditor General and, therefore, does not
require a government response.
Recommendation 2
The Treasury Board Secretariat recommences its review of the implementation level of
recommendations of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and provides the results to the Public Accounts Committee
upon completion.
Interaction between departments and the Office of the Auditor General is supported by the Treasury Board
Policy on Internal Audit, which came into effect April 1, 2006. This new Policy and the related
directives, provide for the creation of departmental audit committees in large departments and agencies. The
responsibilities of these committees include the review of Auditor General reports and corresponding management action
plans. They are also required to ensure that there are effective arrangements in place to monitor and follow-up on
these commitments. Additionally, the departmental audit committees are to prepare annual reports to the deputy
head; this reporting provides a forum to comment on implementation issues.
As part of its Management Accountability Framework assessments of departments, which are made public,
the Treasury Board Secretariat will monitor departmental audit action plans and where warranted, provide feedback to
departments.
Recommendation 3
As the Auditor General is an independent officer of Parliament, the Treasury Board
Secretariat establishes a clear bargaining mandate and envelope, and that the Office of the Auditor General is permitted
to negotiate with its union bargaining units independently and without interference within this mandate and envelope
through collective bargaining process.
Pursuant to the Auditor General Act, the Auditor General is authorized to exercise the powers
and perform the duties and functions of the Treasury Board under the Financial Administration Act that relate
to personnel management including the determination of terms and conditions of employment and the responsibility for
employer and employee relations within the Office of the Auditor General, which is listed as a separate agency under
Schedule V of the Financial Administration Act.
Notwithstanding the above, separate agencies must obtain negotiation mandates from the President of the
Treasury Board defining the objectives and limits to be observed in their negotiations with union bargaining agents.
As well, Section 112 of the Public Service Labour Relations Act requires separate agencies to obtain Governor
in Council authority before entering into collective agreements with bargaining agents. The Governor in Council
seeks assurances from separate agencies that the terms of proposed collective agreements are consistent with their
negotiation mandates.
As a separate agency, the Office of the Auditor General is responsible for all aspects of the conduct of
the negotiations with the bargaining agents within the parameters of the authorized mandate.
Since the appearance of the Auditor General before the Public Accounts Committee in February 2007,
the Secretary of the Treasury Board met with the Auditor General in March 2007 to discuss her concerns. It was agreed, consequently, that further meetings between officials of both
organizations should be held with the view to improving consultations and collaboration during the process of obtaining
negotiation mandates.
Recommendation 4
The Treasury Board Secretariat works with Parliamentarians and Committees of the House of
Commons and Senate to improve departmental performance reports before the next round of performance reports.
The government is always seeking to improve departmental reporting and to respond
to parliamentarians' needs. For example, as part of the Management Accountability Framework assessments, the
Treasury Board Secretariat reviews reports on plans and priorities and departmental performance reports against good
public reporting principles and provides feedback to departments in order to continually improve reporting to
Parliament. The development of the Canada's Performance Report and the Report on Plans and Priorities Overview for
Parliamentarians website have been integral to presenting a government-wide lens through which parliamentarians are able
to view the spending, plans and performance of individual departments.
The renewed Expenditure Management System sets the foundation for further improvements to parliamentary
reporting. Budget 2006, the November 2006 Economic and Fiscal Update and Budget 2007 confirmed the Government's
commitment and elaborated on the direction and key characteristics of the renewed Expenditure Management System in which
the use of results in managing, decision-making, and reporting will be central. Existing initiatives such as the
Management, Resources, and Results Structure Policy and a proposed strengthening of the Evaluation Policy will support
the integration of results into the Expenditure Management System and, by so doing, assist departments in producing
credible performance information, linking resources to results and demonstrating value for money.
The government welcomes the Committee's interest and the opportunity to work with parliamentarians to
improve departmental performance reports.
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