Procedure and House Affairs committee  I do, Madam Chair. Thank you for the opportunity.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The foreign and defence policy secretariat is incredibly lean, which means that we very much have to focus on the mandate that we are given—support to the Prime Minister's international engagements—and that very much focuses on policy and substantive support. We do rely heavily on other entities to do appropriate processes so that we can stay very much focused on the issues at hand.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. With regard to the address in Parliament, the PCO was not aware that this individual was going to be invited to the address to Parliament, nor that he was going to be recognized there. We had no visibility on that. I would also add that, given the need to respect the role of parliamentarians and the operations of the House of Commons, there was no other role for the Privy Council Office in this situation.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  It certainly is. It's the whole gamut of what's important for us. For the foreign and defence policy secretariat, we're responsible for providing policy advice. When we're supporting incoming and outgoing visits, we're very much focused on where we can advance our foreign policy objectives and support our domestic interests.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, I would just like to confirm that the question is about the Prime Minister's outgoing visits, in which he is....

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For both incoming and outgoing visits, we provide the Prime Minister with the appropriate policy support. We work closely with Global Affairs to develop a recommendation to undertake the visit to begin with. When we go through that process, we look at how our foreign policy objectives could be advanced but also at tangible outcomes that could be derived from such an engagement.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I was not in my current position at that time.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  For the foreign and defence policy secretariat, it's not within our mandate to conduct the vetting of invitees. We very much rely on other entities within our system to do that. However, before forwarding it on, we do give the list a cursory review. Often we don't have a lot of time to do that.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Yes, that's correct. We do not have any direct relationship or engagement with the Speaker's office when it comes to addresses to Parliament.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  I would just say that the foreign and defence policy secretariat very much focuses on policy support to our Prime Minister as he does his international engagements. In the event that we receive invitations and lists for events, what we normally do is just a cursory review of that list.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  The PCO does not play a role in sending out invitations. At the request of the Prime Minister's Office, we sometimes request that Global Affairs Canada pull together and collate a list. When it is returned to us, we do that cursory review. However, we do not have the responsibility to issue invitations.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Thank you for the question, Madam Chair. I'll be clear right up front. PCO was not aware that Yaroslav Hunka was invited to the address or would be part of the Speaker's speech before the Speaker delivered his speech in Parliament. As you have heard, lists of guests invited to an address in Parliament are managed by the office of protocol at Parliament.

Procedure and House Affairs committee  Madam Chair, honourable members, good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today. My name is Christine Kennedy. I am the acting assistant secretary to cabinet for operations with the foreign and defence policy secretariat at the Privy Council Office. With respect to the issue being considered by this committee—the invitation and recognition of Yaroslav Hunka in Parliament on September 22, 2023—I wish to confirm that the Privy Council Office had no role in any invitation to him or in his recognition in Parliament.