Information & Ethics committee  I do think that should be disclosed. If you look at new pieces of legislation, Mexico discloses their access to information requests online. The U.K. has disclosure logs containing that. Quebec, as part of their regulations that came into effect in December 2009, has regulations mandating the disclosure of access to information requests.

Information & Ethics committee  My understanding of it is that you have access to information, which is essentially a reactive mode. People make an access to information request to an institution, and then a response is made. Usually it's in a static format. It's in a document that already exists. Or now we see CDs of information.

Information & Ethics committee  In my opinion, the issue of open government and government transparency is not partisan. I am not here to make partisan statements either. I am here because I sincerely believe that the governance of Canada must adapt to new technologies and to the new way of interacting with citizens who are trying, using new technologies, to obtain information in a way that is much more specific and immediate than in the past.

Information & Ethics committee  The whole issue of transparency must always take into account the need to protect certain types of information. It is in the public interest to protect certain types of information, such as information on national security and personal information. Even though we may wish to pursue governance and government transparency, we must nevertheless continue setting certain parameters in order to protect sensitive information because it is in the public interest to do so.

Information & Ethics committee  Among other things, the information and privacy commissioners recommended, in the resolution, that at the outset, when developing government information for programs, policies or certain databases, we conduct an exercise that will allow an exact evaluation of the way in which we will build data banks and allow their disclosure.

Information & Ethics committee  This is a very good question. We have looked at what is being done in these three countries. I said, in my presentation, that they offer interesting possibilities, because all three developed their approach in a different manner. I think that we have things to learn from these three countries.

Information & Ethics committee  In terms of the disclosure logs for access to information requests, I've been having discussions with the Treasury Board Secretariat. As I said, they've now taken the leadership. It was part of the CAIRS investigation that we did have these discussions with the secretariat, and they've now taken the leadership role in posting their own, and I know they're working with the departments to see if they can spread that practice across the federal government.

Information & Ethics committee  Two hundred and fifty that are subject to the Access to Information Act.

Information & Ethics committee  That is a good question. I have not done any demographic analyses to determine exactly why a particular group decides whether or not to participate in an election. This may be a question you should ask the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. I once read an article that I found to be of particular interest.

Information & Ethics committee  Well, what we're seeing, particularly in the States in the way the Obama administration has implemented its open government strategy, is that they have strict timelines that people have to abide by. They have to produce results. They've just conducted an audit in terms of how the various departments are doing.

Information & Ethics committee  The difference we're seeing when we look at the other jurisdictions, the U.S., the UK, and Australia, is that what has been significant in the open government movement is that there have been declarationsfrom the prime ministers—or the President, in the case of the United States—declaring the leadership intention to promote open government.

Information & Ethics committee  I haven't seen a declaration on open government by the Prime Minister. What I do see in Canada is that there are various areas of active action at this point. That's what I'm seeing. On the digital economy, as I said, the public consultation is very open and is very much like an open government initiative.

Information & Ethics committee  I think you might want to ask this question to the chief information officer in terms of what kinds of directives they will give to the other departments. That's outside of my sphere of influence, if you wish. But I do believe that, as the Australian task force recommended, there has to be an open government declaration from the leadership of the country in order to effect a long-term and profound cultural shift in the way we govern.

Information & Ethics committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for providing me with an opportunity to discuss once again the subject of open government. As early as 2008 the OECD became interested in the notions of open government. It developed a recommendation inviting member countries, including Canada, to take the necessary steps to enhance access and promote more effective use of public sector information.