Bob Bromley

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the Minister has made a solid commitment there and I’ll look forward to working with him. We don’t have an internal auditor general, obviously, but a functional audit of a category of expenditures across government might be a wise move, especially given the potential savings involved. But the Minister has committed to come to committee to discuss the possibility of improving travel policy safeguards. So will the Minister hear from committee and include their perspectives on what should be included in that review? I appreciate the Minister’s commitments again...

Thanks. Just quickly for clarity, I assume the Minister is talking about Stanton, not Deh Cho and Sahtu which we have longer experience with. Is there anything to add on those? Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Minister. I have no problem with that. The Duty Travel Policy of the FAA manual says that all travel is to be completed by the most economical and practical means available, but that only refers to ensuring best value once the decision to travel has been made. We have policy guidelines requiring senior management approval for travel to southern Canada with the advances in virtual travel through technology.

Will the Minister ask his officials to examine what controls could be put in place in the travel authorization process to ensure alternative communication means are...

Thanks for that information. What happens when we take it over in terms of costs? Do we just bill them? Does TSC just bill them as they do other departments?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It is also my pleasure to recognize all the students here today and their teachers. I especially welcome those who are residents of Weledeh, which includes Ndilo, Detah and Old Town, Niven Lake, that area. Welcome.

I also would like to give special recognition to the representatives from the Public Service Alliance of Canada, and Lorraine Hewlett, who often stands up for the public interest.

So that’s where this would appear. I appreciate that. What proportion of this would that constitute?

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to conclude my statement.

---Unanimous consent granted

That’s all I have. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to pursue this a little bit further. I appreciate the good information here. That was useful.

I guess I’m also looking at it for rate. For example, new litres of fossil fuel saved and the new greenhouse gas reductions by year for the past five years, so that I can see how much of the low-hanging fruit or whatever it is. Ultimately, the cost-benefit return probably starts to shrink a little bit. I would appreciate that to help me assess that, which brings me to the question.

What do we see as our biggest remaining opportunities? I’d say we are close to achieving...

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just have a quick one on the recoveries. I noticed ’13-14 for other public agencies is roughly triple of the previous year. Is that associated with the taking on of Stanton, or is there another explanation for that?