Evidence of meeting #11 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was requester.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
That's right.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
An assumption was made based on information Mr. Jack had, apart from the ATI request, on the prospective identity of the requester. Is that correct?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
That's correct.
4:10 p.m.
Senior Analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communication and Consultations) Privy Council Office
It was the prospective identity of the person who would possibly write an article. Again, you need not be the requester to have the document.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Do either of you believe that the inclusion of Mr. Bronskill's name in this memo or the mentioning of his name during a conference call constituted a breach of the Privacy Act?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
I don't believe that, because this was not based on any knowledge of him as the requester; it was simply an assumption. It was not based on any knowledge that would have been a breach of the Privacy Act.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Have political staff in the current Prime Minister's Office asked you to make such assumptions about the names of requesters?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
They have not.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Have they asked you to violate the law in any way with respect to the privacy of the names of ATIP requesters?
4:10 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
No.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
I would like Mr. Jack to answer that question as well.
4:10 p.m.
Senior Analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communication and Consultations) Privy Council Office
Absolutely not.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Has there been any pressure placed on you from political staff to do anything of that nature?
4:10 p.m.
Senior Analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communication and Consultations) Privy Council Office
None.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
I'd like to read you some statements and get your true or false responses to these.
Members of the Prime Minister's political staff, including his director of communications, have illegally received the name of a reporter who filed a confidential access to information request. This is not only improper, it is against the law.
This is a statement characterizing the circulation of this e-mail. Do you agree that this e-mail was against the law and illegally received?
4:10 p.m.
Senior Analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communication and Consultations) Privy Council Office
I do not.
4:10 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Another statement is:
The Prime Minister's director of communications gets the names of people who make access to information requests.
Is this true?
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
That's not true.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
Disclosing the name of the person requesting access to information is unacceptable. It's against the law. Presumably you would agree with that.
“Staff in the office of the Minister of Public Safety identified to the Prime Minister's Office a journalist who made an access to information request, a clearly illegal act.” Is that accurate in this instance? Was it staff of the minister's office who released this information?
4:15 p.m.
Senior Analyst, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communication and Consultations) Privy Council Office
I don't know what the staff in Mr. Day's office are doing. As it pertains to that e-mail, it is an improper characterization of the e-mail, because I don't work for Mr. Day.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
All right.
“People in the Prime Minister's Office were illegally in receipt of this information”—your e-mail—“about a journalist for more than six months.” Again, is it your judgment that this information constituted an illegal transfer of information?
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
No.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative
Jason Kenney Conservative Calgary Southeast, AB
“The Prime Minister's staff committed serious breaches of the Privacy Act.” In this instance, is that accurate, in your judgment?
4:15 p.m.
Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Office of the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet (Communications and Consultations), Privy Council Office
No.
4:15 p.m.
Conservative