Evidence of meeting #2 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 100000.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Kelly Block Conservative Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, SK
So the subcommittee then didn't define a time period in which they would like to hear back from the minister.
NDP
Bill Siksay NDP Burnaby—Douglas, BC
Thank you, Chair.
I have to say that you did a very eloquent job this morning of tabling those reports and pointing out the circumstances under which they were being retabled. I'd recommend to colleagues that they take a look at Hansard for that.
Mr. Chair, I want to say that I share Mr. Easter's concerns about the whole question of the slowness of access to information and the apparent interference by ministers or by the PMO in the process of the appropriate release of documents. I was one of the people who made a complaint to the Information Commissioner, and the Information Commissioner has acknowledged that she is indeed investigating that issue.
I just want to say that I have full confidence in the Information Commissioner. I see her as a person of integrity, and I believe we should allow her to do her job as someone appointed to follow up on those kinds of issues.
While I'm not prepared to wait forever for that, I also believe that the commissioner has shown that she is prepared to do the work expeditiously and appropriately. With that caveat, I believe we should wait to see what her report is and then follow it up as necessary.
The only other thing I would have mentioned, Chair, is that the agenda subcommittee looked at the issue of the review of the Lobbying Act that will be—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
Well, I know.
There were only two other things. We had “urgent, must do”; the second column was those items we want to get dealt with before the summer break; and then for after we get back after the summer, there were two items. One was a legislative review of the Lobbying Act. We have to do it; it's a five-year review. The other would be, if necessary, a review of the Oliphant report on the Mulroney-Schreiber matter, which is coming, I understand, in late May. So we could have time over the summer, and maybe some work could be done. But we don't anticipate that this would happen until after the summer. Those are all of the matters.
So thank you, Bill. I probably should have thrown it all on the table.
Is there anything more there?
Mr. Rickford again.
Conservative
Greg Rickford Conservative Kenora, ON
Here are some words of encouragement. You mentioned before Bill spoke that this prorogation thing was a factor in everything. I just want to encourage you, Mr. Chair, to draw on your experience with the previous government, who of course prorogued on a number of occasions. I have no doubt that it was a factor with committee business. I think we can rely on your experience in those scenarios—back to back, I believe it was, under Prime Minister Chrétien—to give us a clear sense of what impact these 23 days of prorogation have had on the committee's business. I'm pretty sure you can handle that, but I think I take comfort in the fact that it was done often enough by previous governments—140 times or more, if I'm not mistaken, over the course of time—for us all to have a sense of how it impacts things.
Liberal
Bloc
Carole Freeman Bloc Châteauguay—Saint-Constant, QC
I do not know. Are the remarks made right now tied with the business of this committee or our future business?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
I think they are on the fringes of legitimacy. I think it was a...
Let's just leave that one alone. I don't think the committee time should be squandered. We're going to be starting meetings late because of the bumping in with another committee before us, and people are going to have to leave here, if they have to do prep for question period or whatever. So let's all help to be most efficient.
Mr. Easter.
Liberal
Wayne Easter Liberal Malpeque, PE
I don't want to get into this, Mr. Chair, but I think we want just to put on the record that we know those are the talking points in the PMO. There's not much substance to them. We'll leave it at that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Paul Szabo
That's not relevant.
All right, are there any further items?
The steering committee will be meeting next Tuesday, and you will be getting notice of what we've been able to plan for next Thursday's meeting that we would like you to be aware of and to prepare for in order to participate in the meeting.
Thank you kindly, all.
We're adjourned.