Information & Ethics Committee on Nov. 23rd, 2010

[Bob Hamilton]

No, I don't believe so. Certainly part of the program we're putting in place in development and part of what we're trying to do in the culture of Environment Canada is make it a more attractive place to be, for sure. We're always trying to do that, for a whole bunch of reasons in a whole bunch of areas. I wouldn't see that as the issue.

In fact, there's a fair amount of demand for people who are quite expert in moving around the access to information area. We have an excess of demand, so it could be attractive from that perspective, for somebody who has those particular skills.

It's an area where the workload just keeps on increasing, and the demands are there. So we are trying to make it a little more attractive in a number of ways: in how we manage the place, and by providing this kind of training and leadership, and in the culture. Again, this is why we think it comes from the top: people know that we care about how we're doing and want to do better. We don't want to get another F.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Can you say something that's more specific about how you're trying to make it more attractive to employees? You mentioned a couple of things, but could you expand on them a little?

[Bob Hamilton]

Yes, and Pierre and Shelley can feel free to chip right in.

I think it's just trying to commit to getting qualified people to work in this area to help share the work. Some of the people in the area, particularly when we watched that period when our staffing went down.... That can be a crushing workload for the people who are still there. It's a commitment on behalf of senior management that we are going to deal with this as best we can. We are prepared to use consultants, if needed. It's a commitment that we're going to be there; that we recognize that there are challenges and that we're going to be there to help make it as attractive as possible—and to know that this isn't something the deputy minister or I or others don't care about. We do, just so that people understand that.

Pierre, I don't know whether there's anything—

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Could I ask one question? Is there a different level of absenteeism among employees of the ATIP unit at Environment Canada from that in other departments or in other aspects of the work of Environment Canada?

[Bob Hamilton]

Gosh, there is not that I'm aware of. I don't think so. We can check into it, but I don't think so.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Sure.

Go ahead, Mr. Bernier.

[Pierre Bernier]

I just wanted to add that our development program is incentive-oriented, as we recruit people at the PM 01 level. After meeting certain pre-determined objectives set during the training, employees who complete the program successfully are promoted to the PM 04 level.

I believe that this is a rather attractive incentive for employees who really want to have a career in access to information. We provide them with the training, and they are promoted, after meeting a number of specific objectives, to the PM 04 level. In other words, they become senior officers.

[Bill Siksay, NDP, Burnaby—Douglas, BC]

Is there some kind of training program outside of the department that you recruit people from or that people come into the department from to do this kind of work?

[Pierre Bernier]

We don't recruit from specific training programs, but some programs are available. For instance, the University of Alberta offers access to information training. However, we don't actually recruit from this program. In-service and out-service selection processes are used to recruit qualified individuals.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shawn Murphy]

Thank you very much, Mr. Siksay.

Ms. Davidson, you have seven minutes.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you very much for being here with us today to answer our questions. I don't expect that you were very pleased to see the F mark, any more than the rest of us were. So we're pleased that you're here.

There are a few things that were mentioned, both in the commissioner's remarks and in your opening remarks. You talked about Parks Canada. You used to do their access to information things, but you don't anymore. Is that correct?

[Bob Hamilton]

That's right. I think it was for a two-year period. During that period, in any event—I forget how many years it was—we were processing their requests as well, and that stopped, I guess, at the end of this stretch.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

It stopped after this report was done?

[Bob Hamilton]

Yes, it was after the report was done.

Go ahead.

[Shelley Emmerson]

It ended on April 1, 2009.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Okay.

Now, you talked about the numbers and how they have been increasing. But those numbers are increasing even with the Parks Canada numbers being taken out of there. Is that correct?

[Bob Hamilton]

That's correct.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Were the Parks Canada numbers included in your totals when they were with you?

[Bob Hamilton]

No, they weren't...do you mean in the commissioner's report?

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

I mean in numbers you gave.

[Bob Hamilton]

In my numbers, I believe we've taken the Parks Canada numbers out. We tried to be consistent with the way the commissioner reported, and that report didn't include Parks Canada. Anything I've given you is just our access requests.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Okay.

Can you go over the specific system that's in place at Environment Canada? What happens when a request comes in? Walk us through the process and say how it might be the same or different from the process in another department that got a different rating, if you know that.

[Bob Hamilton]

I'll let Shelley walk us through it. We can't comment on what other departments have in place, but I think Shelley can take us through again the process that we follow.

[Shelley Emmerson]

Sure. Thank you for the question.

My office is a central coordinating body for all requests under both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. Requests are directed to Mr. Bernier, and our office will open a file and determine where in the department the request should be sent to.

The texts of the requests are sent by e-mail to the various sectors of the department, and we have contact people in place in each area within the department to coordinate the retrieval of information.

Once the documents are retrieved, they're reviewed, and recommendations are approved to an assistant deputy minister level or branch head level, and then the documents are provided to our office with these recommendations.

Once the documents arrive in our office, the files are given to an analyst to process the remaining portions of the file. We will conduct any of the necessary consultations required, and once the consultation responses are received and our own line-by-line analysis is completed, we'll prepare the documents for approval. The files are approved by Mr. Bernier, as the ATIP coordinator.

[Patricia Davidson, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

Do you or do any of your colleagues have meetings with other people in other departments who hold similar positions to those that you hold? Is there a cross-training or a sharing of information and best practices among departments--within ministries, I guess I should say.