Information & Ethics committee  When I spoke about a clash, I did not necessarily mean that this was undesirable. It is more that we are subject to strict statutory obligations with regard to confidentiality, for example. Certain information could be disclosed in the course of a parliamentary inquiry, informati

Information & Ethics committee  Without having seen the details, I do not know whether I could say that the case reported in today's, or yesterday's, newspaper serves to underscore the necessity of updating the act. It is possible that it was appropriate to censor the sections in question and that it was not an

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. They're called access to information and privacy coordinators.

Information & Ethics committee  No, they're employees of the individual departments or agencies that they work for, and so they're not trained by us. There may be some osmosis training by--

Information & Ethics committee  We received a second complaint about the same subject. Is it exactly the same as the one referred to in today's newspapers? We are not sure, we would have to check. Given that a complaint is already being examined, I do not imagine that the second one would be identical to the fi

Information & Ethics committee  The case in question was referred for investigation before I became Commissioner, although, even then, I kept abreast of current affairs. I believe it is the Privacy Commissioner's Office, and not my Office, that is investigating the matter. However, by way of a general answer t

Information & Ethics committee  I think, Mr. Peterson, for us to speculate on a hypothetical case is very difficult. As the deputy commissioner said, there are some 13 exemptions in the act.

Information & Ethics committee  I've not yet memorized the 13 exemptions, but it could be “relations with a foreign country”; it could be “matter under investigation”. There is a whole series of them. As the deputy commissioner said, our approach to each complaint is to hear both sides, not to prejudge the ca

Information & Ethics committee  As the deputy commissioner said, it would be up to thee complainant to request such a review.

Information & Ethics committee  You didn't hear me say it orally, Mr. Chairman, because I was planning to keep it as an answer to a question.

Information & Ethics committee  Once it's printed and said, sir, I have to stand by that statement.

Information & Ethics committee  I'm informed that we have a specific complaint at this time. I'll ask the deputy commissioner to comment.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's a real pleasure for me to be here this morning to assist you today in considering the estimates of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. I will admit that I'm still near the bottom of a steep learning curve about the intricacies of