Thank you for this opportunity to appear before you.
My name is Tom Makichuk. I've been a public servant since 1987, and spent 10 of those 23 years in the field of access to information and privacy. I joined Public Works and Government Services Canada as director, access to information and privacy, on July 6, 2009. My role is to lead the ATIP program for the department. I carry out this responsibility with a staff of 27 full-time equivalents and a combined budget of $2.6 million.
As you know, access to information is considered one of the elements of our democracy. Public Works and Government Services Canada takes this responsibility seriously. This is proven by our record of handling requests under the Access to Information Act. Over the past three fiscal years, the department has responded to over 1,900 requests under the act. This represents a release of almost half a million pages of information. Furthermore, since 2008-09, PWGSC has responded on time to more than 95% of access to information requests received. To date, less than 1% of access requests received in the last fiscal year have resulted in valid complaints investigated by the Office of the Information Commissioner.
As well, the Information Commissioner recognized the department's performance with above-average marks in the 2008-09 report card. Of the 24 institutions assessed, PWGSC ranked in the top three, with a rating of four and a half stars out of five, and a B letter grade. These results clearly demonstrate the department's commitment and dedication to both transparency and legislative compliance. As well, they reflect PWGSC's values of respect, integrity, and excellence in leadership.
I'm happy to respond to your questions.