November 23, 2023
Minutes of the Audit and Evaluation Committee (AEC) Meeting
November 23, 2023
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m .
Virtual Meeting
Members:
Janine Sherman, External member – Chair
André Grondines, External member
Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner (absent)
Secretary to the Committee:
France Labine, Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services, Strategic Planning and Transformation Services
Regular attendees:
France Labine, Deputy Commissioner, Corporate Services, Strategic Planning and Transformation Services, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Audit Executive (CAE)
Senior Management Committee:
Layla Michaud, Deputy Commissioner, Investigations and Governance
Natacha Bernier, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Legal Services and Public Affairs
Guests:
James Ellard, Senior Director, Public Affairs
Catherine Lapalme, Principal, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Sébastien Lafond, Director, Finance, Procurement, Administration and Security and Deputy Chief Financial Officer (DCFO)
Michael Walsh, Financial Management Advisor
Ann Mousseau, Director, Human Resources
Meeting Summary
Approval of Agenda and Record of Decisions and action items from the September 20, 2023, meeting.
Forward Calendar Approval.
Presentation of overpayments related to Phoenix.
Presentation of the highlights of upcoming corporate initiatives and activities.
1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Mrs. Sherman stated that she attended the meeting for the members of the audit committees and found it very useful as well as Mr. Grondines.
France, standing in for the Commissioner, informed members that Natacha Bernier would be Acting Deputy Commissioner, Legal Services and Public Affairs, until January. In addition, she announced that Patrick Alexandre would be acting in for Bojana Terzic, who had recently left the OIC for a promotion.
2. Minutes and Action Items from the February 8, 2023, Meeting
The minutes were approved with minor corrections in English.
France stated that the two following action plans were still in progress.
Human Resource – PSC Staffing File and Monitoring Exercise (development of guidelines/tools for assessing the security level/language profile required for a position is still in progress)
The Evaluation of Internal Controls over salaries and employee benefits (mainly the implementation of a new electronic leave management system, even though Phoenix and MyGCR remain active).
Action item:
The minutes would be published on our website.
3. Phoenix Update—Internal Controls
Sébastien Lafond and Ann Mousseau presented the highlights, the volume and the value of transactions and the key controls put in place.
Action item:
France Labine confirmed that an annual update would be presented to committee members.
4. CAE and CFO Update — Presented by F. Labine
France presented some highlights and indicated that the departmental security plan had been endorsed by senior management.
Action item:
No action required.
5. Financial Statements – Presented by S. Lafond
The Senior Director, Finance, presented the Period 6 Financial Statements for 2023–2024, which indicated a small surplus that would be used for next year’s projects.
Action item:
No action required.
6. Update from the Deputy Commissioner of Investigations and Governance — Presented by L. Michaud
Layla presented the highlights of her report and France indicated that the approach taken to survey our complainants would also be used to inform our accessibility plan.
Action item:
No action required.
7. Update from the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Legal Services and Public Affairs — Presented by N. Bernier
Ms. Bernier indicated some follow-ups on proceedings (Superior Court) that had been concluded and next steps.
Action item:
No action required.
8. Update from Public Affairs—Presented by J. Ellard
The Senior Director provided an update on recent events. Finally, he provided few highlights on the work of the Communications, Translation and ATIP teams.
Action item:
No action required.
In Camera Session
No session was scheduled for in camera discussion.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for February 22, 2024.