OGGO meeting 14 · 2025-11-06 — Committee Evidence — LegisWatch

Summary

This House of Commons committee meeting on government operations and estimates studied the new Defence Investment Agency (DIA) and parliamentary privilege regarding the production of documents. Appearing were Dominique Blanchard and Emilio Franco from the Treasury Board Secretariat, Donnalyn McClymont from the Privy Council Office, and Michel Bédard, the House of Commons Law Clerk.

Dominique Blanchard explained that the DIA is a special operating agency within Public Services and Procurement Canada, subject to the same rules as other departments but with enhanced contracting authorities to streamline defence procurement. She noted that high-risk procurements will require Treasury Board approval of a strategy before proceeding, but the agency can then sign contracts without returning to the board, while low- and medium-risk procurements already proceed without board approval under a risk-based approach. Blanchard committed to providing the committee with the DIA's governing documents and emphasized that the agency will report publicly on results through departmental plans and proactive disclosure.

Emilio Franco elaborated on the risk-based procurement methodology, which assesses factors like financial, legal, political and complexity risks to determine the required authorities. He confirmed that the DIA must follow all standard laws, regulations and Treasury Board policies, with additional controls including oversight, audit and transparency through the Open Government portal. Franco noted that the industrial and technological benefits policy requires suppliers to generate a dollar of investment in Canada for every dollar of contract value, and that the DIA will work with Canadian industry to support domestic supply chains.

Donnalyn McClymont addressed questions about the DIA CEO's salary of $670,000 plus potential performance bonuses, stating that the compensation was consistent with the Governor in Council framework for bringing in external talent with specialized expertise in capital allocation and project execution. She confirmed that the CEO will be subject to the Conflict of Interest Act and Lobbying Act, and that the Ethics Commissioner was consulted before the appointment. McClymont declined to specify whether the CEO was on her initial list of candidates, citing privacy concerns, but acknowledged he was under consideration.

Michel Bédard briefed the committee on parliamentary privilege, stating that the House has a constitutional power to order the production of documents, subject only to limitations set by the House or its committees. He noted that when faced with confidentiality claims, committees can insist on production, put safeguards in place, or review redactions in camera, and cited the vaccine contract precedent where unredacted documents were provided for in-camera consultation. Bédard also referenced a letter from Stellantis that provided redacted documents with conditions for consultation, leaving it to the committee to decide on appropriate confidentiality measures.

The meeting included procedural debate about the late notice of Bédard's appearance and the timing of document distribution to members, with some members expressing frustration at not being informed until the meeting started. No motions or votes were recorded on these procedural matters.

AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.

Witnesses · 4

Dominique Blanchard

Associate Secretary, Treasury Board Secretariat

Opening remarks

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, members of the committee, for inviting me here today. I'm here with Mr. Emilio Franco, the executive director at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. I'd like to provide an overview of Treasury Board's role with respect to the Defence Investment Agency, which is a new special operating agency within Public Services and Procurement Canada. First, allow me to provide a brief explanation of the role of special operating agencies, or SOAs. These agencies are not a new concept. They include well-established organizations, such as the translation bureau and the Canadian intellectual property office. Today, more than a dozen special operating agencies are in place within the government. Special operating agencies, or SOAs, are not legally separate entities but are established as distinct units within an existing federal department. Importantly, they are subject to the same rules and requirements that apply across the federal government. Sometimes, SOAs will be granted particular authorities, policy exemptions or delegations that allow them to operate with greater flexibility in order to more efficiently execute on their mandates. For…

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Emilio Franco

Executive Director, Investment Management Sector, Treasury Board Secretariat

Opening remarks

Absolutely. The risk-based approach follows an established methodology by Public Services and Procurement Canada. A number of questions go into that risk assessment. As Dominique mentioned, it looks at aspects like legal and financial contract risk, political risk and communications risk, as well as complexity. Looking into buying ammunition versus buying submarines has different complexities and different risk levels. Based on that assessment, and based on the responses to those questions, there is a risk profile that is given to the procurement. That determines what authorities are required to proceed.

Donnalyn McClymont

Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Senior Personnel and Public Service Renewal, Privy Council Office

Opening remarks

Mr. Chair, I'm from the Privy Council Office, and I'm the deputy secretary responsible for appointments. I will do my best to respond to your question. In terms of the salaries that you quoted, you are absolutely correct. In Mr. Guzman's case, it is not uncommon for us to bring people in from outside the Government of Canada. It's a decision for which the discretion rests with the Governor in Council, to make decisions around the kind of leadership that's required from important organizations such as this one. We are responsible for working within the frameworks that the Governor in Council sets to negotiate compensation for folks when they come in from outside. As you alluded to, there is a framework in place; we work within that framework, and the salary is consistent with the framework. As you suggest, there is not only compensation but also performance pay associated with that. It's not a given that people are going to receive the top end, as you suggest. I think, to the point of my colleagues at Treasury Board, that it will depend on the ability to achieve the objectives that the minister and, ultimately, the Prime Minister have set for the CEO.

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Government Operations and Estimates

Summary

Witnesses · 4