Evidence of meeting #16 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 chairman.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Jennifer Stoddart  Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Wayne Watson  Director General, Investigation and Inquiries Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tom Pulcine  Director General, Corporate Services and Comptroller, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

3:50 p.m.

Director General, Investigation and Inquiries Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Wayne Watson

With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I might add something there.

Historically, we have noticed that when organizations become subject to this legislation, a long learning curve is necessary to implement the policies in order to protect their employees and their clients' information.

During that period, at the very beginning, we expect to receive a great number of requests and inquiries from the employees and the clients, because they will have found out that they can file complaints under this legislation. However, over time, when organizations get used to deal with this legislation, we expect that the number of requests from clients and employees will diminish.

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

If I understand correctly, these are the parameters which you set to assess your next budget: a training period, and an implementation period. Then, with regard to each of these organizations, your formula is based on the number of employees. Did I understand correctly or are there other parameters?

3:50 p.m.

Director General, Investigation and Inquiries Branch, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Wayne Watson

There is the number of employees and the number of personal information they can gather about the people with whom they are dealing. The potential clientele will give us an idea of the number of privacy cases and files.

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

Do we still have some time left, Mr. Chairman?

3:50 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

You have three minutes.

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

Do you want to start or shall I continue?

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Jean-Yves Laforest Bloc Saint-Maurice—Champlain, QC

I will speak later.

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

The next answer will probably be easier.

The documents provided by our clerk indicate that as listed on your office website “Proactive disclosure sections“, your office accumulated $74,728.88 in travel expenses and $32,416 in hospitality expenses in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

Can you detail for the committee the specifics of who is travelling and for what purpose?

3:50 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

In the 2005-2006 fiscal year?

3:50 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

Exactly, the spending which in 2005-2006 cost $74,728.88 in travel expenses and $32,416 in hospitality expenses. Do you have any specifics with regard to those trips or activities?

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

Yes. You're talking about the travelling done by the Office senior management such as myself and the...

3:55 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

By officials of the Office but there may also be other people.

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

We are travelling to make presentations. Soon I will do so within Canada and outside of Canada.

Within Canada, we respond as much as possible to the invitations we receive for presentations and to speak at seminars, for instance in the IT sector , to people working in the access to information sector and who have to know how to protect privacy and we also attend symposiums and conventions organized by our provincial counterparts.

This year, I went to Quebec city, to attend the annual symposium representing people who work in the field of access to information and privacy within the Quebec government.

So we deal with this king of activity all across Canada. Sometimes, we visit the offices of our counterparts and universities with research chairs. This covers about the full spectrum of these activities.

With regard to travelling outside of Canada, we offer our participation to organizations I already mentioned, namely the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and also the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. The latter deals with the Pacific coast of Canada and the assistant commissioner attends these meetings.

Personally, I deal with the OECD, which is always outside of Canada. This is just an example. We also receiving invitations to go to Washington to make the Americans better aware of our concerns and legislation. In fact, they do not have any framework legislation on the protection of personal information in the private sector and usually they have very little information about Canada.

We also go to Mexico. I am not absolutely sure that we went there during the last fiscal year but this is just an example—

3:55 p.m.

Bloc

Carole Lavallée Bloc Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC

[Inaudible ???] as an example.

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

At the request of our Mexican counterparts, I went to Mexico with the British Columbia commissioner in order to give some training on the protection of personal information to the new agency which is being set up.

These are just a few example as to why and how we travel.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

Okay, thank you.

Merci, madame Lavallée.

I have two points, colleagues. The BlackBerrys are interfering with the microphones, so if anybody has a BlackBerry on the table, I would appreciate your taking it off the table.

Secondly—we'll go to Mr. Martin next, but before we go to Mr. Martin, on Madame Lavallée's point—the figures Madame Lavallée was quoting come from a section of your website entitled “Proactive Disclosure”. I was just wondering whether you could tell us what proactive disclosure means?

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

Proactive disclosure refers to Treasury Board Secretariat guidelines that have been in force since December 2003, which require that travel and hospitality expenses of anyone at the executive level or above be posted to the website. We have posted all those expenses since then, and you can see them.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

I guess we can take it, then, considering that you have 80-plus employees in 2005-06, that the total travel budget of your office and your total hospitality expenses were more than what's actually posted.

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

You're right, Mr. Chairman, because notably the investigation branch travels widely across Canada in the course of investigations.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

So then, are you able to give us the total travel expenses and total hospitality expenses for your entire office for 2005-06?

3:55 p.m.

Privacy Commissioner, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Jennifer Stoddart

I believe Mr. Pulcine is, for last year.

3:55 p.m.

Director General, Corporate Services and Comptroller, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Tom Pulcine

The travel expenses for 2005-06 were $285,000. For last year, I don't have it broken down between domestic and foreign. I have our forecast for 2006-07 broken down by domestic and foreign, if you want that.

3:55 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

Yes, and hospitality?

3:55 p.m.

Director General, Corporate Services and Comptroller, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Tom Pulcine

In terms of hospitality, bear with me for a moment.

I'm trying to find whether I have last year's with me.

4 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Tom Wappel

If you don't have it, we won't waste anybody's time. You can always send it to us.