Evidence of meeting #35 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was report.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
They are, along with the responses. The new provisions of the Quebec legislation that will come into force in 2009 provide that it will be mandatory on government institutions' Internet sites.
There is nothing that says we have to have legislation to do something like that. We can do it administratively, at the federal level.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
The Department of National Defence already does it.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
You are the Commissioner, you act as ombud, you receive the complaints. Could you put the complaints on a website?
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
Complaints are protected by very specific confidentiality provisions. However, when the Federal Accountability Act was passed, we became subject to the rules governing access to information. If there is a request, when the complaints are completely finished, the documents produced by the Office of the Commissioner are subject to the rules governing access to information.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
I would say that our intention this year is to put the access requests we receive on the website, along with the responses. If there are specific questions relating to completed investigations, that would be published.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
You just said that the Department of National Defence puts access to information requests directly on its site. Does that Department do this of its own accord?
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
Yes.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
You don't have any coercive measures to compel an institution to do it.
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
No.
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
That's right. That's why I say that this measure can be adopted administratively within the federal public service.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
But when there is a problem and some institutions are doing it not particularly well—you examined 10 institutions and six of them were in breach because their performance did not meet the criteria well enough—you have no coercive measures.
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
Obviously...
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
You are very limited, you have good intentions, but you have no sanctions. Your actions are therefore limited.
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
You understand, Mr. Chair, that we are talking about administrative measures. That is the big difference. If we are talking about legislative measures, obviously there is a legal obligation.
Where there is an administrative measure, and this is the big difference, it is applied within the public service. In these circumstances, it should be administered by Treasury Board Secretariat. It is responsible for administering access to information policies. That is not the function of the Office of the Commissioner, it is the function of Treasury Board Secretariat.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
If we are talking about administrative improvements, proactive disclosure is one. I think another measure would be essential and should have a major impact: extensions and consultations within the system. There is no legislation that limits the time for extensions and consultations. In the extension and consultation system, we see 200 or 300 or 400 or 1,000 days in some cases. There is no legislation to put time limits on these things.
If you want to do something at the administrative level, that is it. That would have an immediate impact in the system. It would have to be administered by Treasury Board Secretariat.
9:45 a.m.
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
There would also have to be legislation to support...
9:45 a.m.
Interim Information Commissioner, Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada
I would prefer that there be legislation, but if you are asking me what administrative measure would have the most impact, my answer is that this is one.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Thank you.
We'll now move to Mr. Siksay.
Welcome back. It's good to see you, sir.
Probably all of us can assure you that your colleague Mr. Martin ably represented you.
You can read the transcripts to see how much.
9:50 a.m.
Voices
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