Evidence of meeting #17 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was requests.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Public Works and Government Services
If deemed non-sensitive, it's a routine disclosure, and the disclosure, once it's ready, just goes out from the department.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Public Works and Government Services
There is no further notification.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Thank you.
Ms. Wesch, I wanted to come to you in terms of your presentation. You mentioned that you meet with PMO issues management staff weekly to provide information on ATIP requests, consultations that come into PCO, and those that are closed. Is that a similar process to what we've just been discussing with Mr. Makichuk?
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Privy Council Office
No. Our process is totally different. We don't categorize our requests in any way. We don't have any kind of special handling. As I described in my opening statement, we send the release package to PMO issues management a few days before it's released. We send a memorandum to the chief of staff in the Prime Minister's office and in the weekly meeting we provide a listing of the requests that have come in and the ones that have been closed. We treat all requests the same way and we don't categorize them or label specific files for any kind of special handling.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
You don't receive any feedback from political staff on the list of requests you present at that weekly meeting. Is that right?
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
There's no discussion about what's more sensitive than others, or what's non-sensitive. It's merely an information of what lists are being considered.
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Privy Council Office
I provide information only on the requests that have come in, the consultations that have come in, the requests that we have closed.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Thank you.
Ms. Brennan, I wanted to ask you about the same process. On page 3 of your statement, you mentioned that when a request is received in your department you identify the request as routine or high visibility. Can you tell me who's involved in making that decision? Is there any representative of the minister's office or political staff at that meeting?
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Treasury Board Secretariat
Once we get a request for access to information, normally I deem that as high visibility or routine based on what's in the news, what could have significant impact, or possible questions in the House for the president. I do that myself.
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Treasury Board Secretariat
Yes.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Are the criteria for that written down anywhere? Have they been discussed with other folks? Where do those criteria that you use to make that decision come from?
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Treasury Board Secretariat
The criteria are simply based on the subject matter of the request. Again, the requester has no bearing on us determining whether it's high visibility or routine.
Yes, there are clearly defined criteria within the Treasury Board Secretariat, and everyone is aware of those criteria.
11:45 a.m.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Thank you.
Ms. Holden, is there a similar process in the Department of Human Resources, any discussion of what requests have come in with political staff before the actual information is gathered on those ATIP requests?
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development
Within HRSDC, we have a process by which we prepare a weekly report of new requests that have been made to the department, and we also prepare two weeks ahead a list of what requests are going to be released or scheduled to be released. Those two reports are the subject of a weekly meeting with ourselves, communications staff, parliamentary affairs staff, and a representative from the minister's office for information only. We share those lists so that appropriate media lines can be developed, if so desired, by communications.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Thank you.
My questions are for Mr. Makichuk, director of access to information, PWGSC.
Can you explain to us in detail how an access to information request is processed, right from receiving the request to sending the response?
11:45 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Public Works and Government Services
The access to information process begins with a written request from a requester that identifies the Access to Information Act. It also includes a $5 filing fee.
From that point, the text of the request is tasked out to a variety of organizational divisions within the department to determine who has records that are responsive to the request.
At the same time, and concurrently, this weekly meeting occurs that I've made mention of, in which the text of the request is reviewed to determine whether it is sensitive and requiring communications products.
Following that, documents are received by my office from the department, and those documents are reviewed by my staff. It's a painstaking review. It's a word-by-word review. Many times we could have requests that constitute thousands of pages, so you can imagine the time to review each individual word to apply any one of the 12 exemptions, or two exclusions of the Access to Information Act, is quite an undertaking to carry out.
Once the information has been assessed and the exemptions and exclusions applied, fees are then assessed. Fees can be assessed for the number of pages beyond 125. Fees can be assessed for search and preparation time. Fees can be assessed for the manner in which the records are disclosed--for example, if they were on tape recording. Fees are then received or paid from the requester and the request is disclosed.
There is one additional element that I should add that also runs concurrently at the time the disclosure package is prepared. That's if the request is one of the few that has been deemed to be sensitive. In that case, the disclosure package is circulated first to the responsible assistant deputy minister, then to the associate deputy's office, and finally to the minister's office. Again, the purpose of this is to first provide a heads-up to the department to indicate that the following information is about to be disclosed and to ensure that necessary communications products are prepared.
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Could you describe to us what the requester had asked for in the case in question, the Togneri issue?
11:50 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Certainly. The request was for “All analyses created since Jan.1, 2008, on the relative difference between PWGSC operating expenses...indexed by the Canadian Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA-Canada)”.
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
11:50 a.m.
Director, Access to Information and Privacy, Department of Public Works and Government Services
It was in response to this request that the department identified the asset report card.
11:50 a.m.
Conservative
Pierre Poilievre Conservative Nepean—Carleton, ON
Okay. And what was the precise concern raised by Mr. Togneri to this release?
