I will now call the meeting to order, and I'll welcome everyone.
This meeting, colleagues, has been called pursuant to the Standing Orders. This all has to do with the report card issued by the Information Commissioner of Canada. It was tabled on April 10, actually. It was entitled “Out of Time: 2008-2009 Report Cards and Systemic Failures Affecting Access to Information in Canada”.
Last week we had the associate deputy minister and two other officials from the Department of the Environment. Today we are pleased to have with us, from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Mr. Gérald Cossette, the associate deputy minister. He's accompanied by Madame Roxanne Dubé, director general, corporate secretariat; and Monique McCulloch, director, access to information and privacy protection division. I want to welcome each one of you.
Before you begin, Mr. Cossette, I want to make a few comments to set the context of this hearing.
As I said, this hearing arises from the report card issued from the Information Commissioner. It grades various departments within the Government of Canada on their compliance with the Access to Information Act.
The report identifies a number of systemic problems within various departments that are basically failing Canadians in providing timely information in accordance with the legislation, that is, the laws of this nation. The report card identifies other departments that, through leadership, are able to provide timely access, all in accordance with the legislation.
According to the report, the reasons for this failure include lack of leadership, inappropriate use of time extensions, time-consuming consultations, insufficient resources, deficiencies in record management, and problems with the delegation process.
The Information Commissioner graded all 24 federal departments. Five departments, unfortunately, received a rating of 1 of 5, or an F grade. One of those was Environment Canada. The other departments or agencies were Natural Resources Canada, CIDA, Correctional Services Canada, and Canadian Heritage.
However, there was another category worse than an F. The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade received a rating of 0 out of 5, or, as the Information Commissioner reported, a red alert rating.
The committee considers these findings extremely serious. They go to the very heart of the rule of law and the ability of Parliament and the Canadian people to hold the executive to account.
As a result, we have decided to call you to appear, representing your department.
We're pleased to have you. The floor is now yours, Mr. Cossette, for your opening comments.