PACP Committee Meeting

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts met at 9:02 a.m. this day, in Room 237-C, Centre Block, the Chair, Shawn Murphy, presiding.

Sheila Fraser, Richard Alvarez and Karen Dodds made statements and answered questions.

The Chair presented the Eighth Report from the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure which read as follows:

Your Subcommittee met on Wednesday, June 2, 2010, to consider the business of the Committee and agreed to make the following recommendations:

1. That pursuant to the motion adopted by the Committee on Thursday, April 1, 2010 in relation to the study of the international peer review of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada

• the Committee schedule a meeting in September 2010

• in addition to representatives of the Office of the Auditor General, members of the international peer review team be invited to appear via video conference

• if necessary, the Committee meet outside its usual scheduled time in order to facilitate their appearance

• the meeting be televised if possible.

2. That pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(g), and the motion adopted by the Committee on Thursday, April 22, 2010, the Committee undertake a study of Chapter 6, "Special Examinations of Crown Corporations - 2009" of the Spring 2010 Report of the Auditor General of Canada, and that witnesses from the Canada Post Corporation and the Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation be invited to appear.

3. That the proposed budget in the amount of $35,696 for the annual conference of the Canadian Council of Public Accounts Committees to be held in Québec City, Québec in August 2010, be approved.

On motion of David Christopherson, it was agreed, — That the report of the Subcommittee be concurred in.

Meili Faille moved, — That, given that the Public Accounts Committee has published reports on issues related to Information Technology (IT) since 1995,

Given that the Office of the Auditor General has published reports on issues related to Information Technology (IT) since 1995,

That the House of Commons Committee on Public Accounts, in light of the significant risks to IT in the coming years and the need to be proactive, as well as the lack of feasibility studies on future IT projects, request that the Parliamentary Budget Officer, with existing resources, review the costs, expenditures and detailed estimates of government spending in information technology in the following departments and agencies, and report back by November 30, 2010:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

• Foreign Affairs

• Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

• Canada Border Services Agency

• Canada Revenue Agency

• Veterans Affairs Canada

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada

• Royal Canadian Mounted Police

• Public Works and Government Services Canada

• Canadian Security Intelligence Service

• Transport Canada

• Health Canada

• Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada

• Justice Canada.

At 10:57 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.