We heard from one gentleman who admitted that he personally submitted several hundred access to information requests on average each year. I believe he was in the business of looking for information and then writing stories about the information he received, which he then sold to news organizations. That's how he makes a living.
Commissioner Marleau said that the average cost of supplying the information is about $1,425 per information request. So if this one gentleman is making 400 to 500 requests a year, it is costing the taxpayers of Canada $500,000 a year or more to fund his business. Then, if he finds something that he thinks is interesting information, he writes an article and sells it to a news organization. That's how he earns his living.
Do you think that's something that is reasonable for the taxpayers of Canada to fund?