Justice John Gomery calls his second report on the federal sponsorship scandal Restoring Accountability. It lacks the finger pointing and evidence sifting of the first report. But, in the end, it's probably the report that will have a much bigger impact on the way that Ottawa works.

If you're looking for excitement, this is not the read for you. If you're a fan of how the various branches of Canadian government operate, you may be turning pages long into the night.

Despite the fallout from the sponsorship scandal, Gomery says Ottawa should not get out of the sponsorship business.

"Advertising and sponsorship, when properly managed and made fully transparent, are legitimate activities of government," Gomery wrote. "Yet, since the sponsorship scandal, the word 'sponsorship' has all but disappeared from the government's vocabulary."

He notes that some grassroots organizations depend on getting funding through programs like the federal sponsorship program. Gomery's report notes that if the federal government intends to re-enter the sponsorship area, it should:

• Establish specific guidelines for the objectives of sponsorship activities.
  
  
• Like advertising activities, sponsorship activities should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, free from political interference in the selection and management of individual sponsorship activities, although ministers should be free to set overall policies and objectives.
  
  
• Sponsorship activities should be clearly identified and described in all planning, management and reporting documents to departmental management, central agencies and Parliament.
  
  
• Regular evaluations and audits should be undertaken of sponsorship activities to ensure they are meeting stated objectives, providing value for money, not creating unintended consequences, and are free from partisanship in their management and administration.

• Increased funding for parliamentary committees.
  
  
• A public service charter, entrenched in law.
  
  
• The government should adopt an open and competitive process for the selection of deputy ministers, similar to the one in place in Alberta.
  
  
• To enable the public accounts committee to perform its responsibilities more effectively, the government should increase its funding substantially to provide the committee with its own research personnel, legal and administrative staff, and experts as needed.
  
  
• The chief executive officer of a Crown corporation should be appointed, evaluated from time to time, and, if deemed advisable, dismissed by the board of directors of that corporation. Initial appointments to the board of directors of a Crown corporation should be made by the government on the basis of merit.

"At present," he wrote, "some deputy ministers think so little of their accountability that they send subordinates to answer for them before the public accounts committee. This delegation shows a lack of respect not only for Parliament and the public accounts committee but also for the responsibilities that Parliament has assigned to deputy ministers."

Gomery also recommends that deputy ministers and senior public servants be appointed to terms of at least three years, with the expectation that the posting would normally last at least five years. The government would have to explain publicly if it decided to terminate someone early.

As expected, Gomery is seeking better protection for people who bring government mismanagement to light. He's calling for stronger whistleblower legislation that would broaden the class of people protected to include anyone who is carrying out work for the government. If a whistleblower makes a formal complaint alleging that his employer has taken action against him for disclosing information, Gomery would like to see the burden of proof placed on the employer, to show that the actions taken were not a reprisal.

In his final recommendation, Gomery is asking the government to table a report before Parliament within two years, detailing how it has dealt with each of the report's recommendations.

Prime minister-designate Stephen Harper has said he will implement the report's recommendations, as long as they are in line with his goals.