I would like to remind you about the first item on the agenda, on the notice of meeting for this committee: “allegations of interference in access to information requests”. We all agree that that is why we invited you. But, given that you are here, I feel that we can broaden the subject under discussion a little.
Could you tell me how you differentiate between access to information requests. This morning, for example, I asked another department for some information and the department refused to provide it to me. I would like to know what your procedures are. Is there one way to respond to journalists, another way for members of Parliament and yet another way for the general public? How does your department interpret the Access to Information Act? Are there three versions of the act and three procedures?
Apparently, when a request comes from a journalist, that is one thing. When the request comes from a member of Parliament, it is refused. I can even tell you that journalists at Le Devoir have noticed the problem, since they reported that it took them 300 days to get certain information. For the Globe and Mail , it was 32 months. At the Agence de presse du Québec, it took 82 days to get information from ministers' offices. There is a problem. Are there versions of the Access to Information Act that we are not aware of? It seems that there could be one for journalists, one for members—the version that does not give access to information—and one for the general public. How do you see the act?
When I looked at your website, Ms. Finley, I saw that you can delegate your power to provide information. I read what it says about that. To whom do you delegate your power? According to the act, you have to delegate it to your officials. Could you tell me to whom in your department you have delegated your power and how many versions of the Access to Information Act you subscribe to? Is there one for journalists, one for members of Parliament and one for the general public? I would like to understand how your department works.
I wanted to tell you that you got an F in providing information, according to Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. That is the Conservative government for you. No A for you in transparency.