PACP Committee Report

APPENDIX G
THE AUDITOR GENERAL’S RECOMMENDATION BASED ON HER AUDIT OF THE SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM

The government should ensure the development of an action plan for sponsorship, advertising, and public opinion research activities that addresses all of the observations in the three chapters.

As noted in the report the government has undertaken a number of actions to strengthen the management of the sponsorship, advertising, and public opinion research activities. Continued effort is required by the government to ensure that these improvements are sustained. In particular the government should continue to ensure that

public servants understand their obligations and comply with the Financial Administration Act, and

public servants who are given responsibility for managing advertising activities have the necessary specialized expertise in the subject matter.

In addition, the action plan should include details of actions the government will take to ensure that

any operating units established to undertake new activities do so with proper control, accountability, and transparency;

public servants discharge their contracting responsibilities in a manner that complies with the Government Contracts Regulations and Treasury Board policies and that Public Works and Government Services Canada complies with its own policies and stands the test of public scrutiny in matters of prudence and probity, facilitates access, encourages competition, and reflects fairness in the spending of public funds;

parliamentary appropriations are respected;

any transfers of funds between government entities are conducted with transparency and efficiency;

arm’s-length relationships are maintained between Crown corporations and government departments; and

action is taken on issues raised in any other review or investigation conducted by the government or by other agencies.

The action plan should specify time frames, accountabilities, and any recovery action or sanctions that the government decides to impose.