Mr. Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to talk with you today.
I am sure you have seen stories about CBC/Radio-Canada and access to information. And almost all of that likely in the Sun and Le Journal de Montréal newspapers, owned by Quebecor. I'll talk a little bit about that in a minute, but first I would like to address our performance under the Access to Information Act.
We received an "F" for the year ending March 31st, 2010. No one at CBC/Radio-Canada finds that grade an acceptable one, and we have been working to ensure that it is not repeated. In fact, in her report and remarks, the commissioner pointed to our improvements since March of last year, and I can tell you that we appreciate the recognition.
Let's look at the record on deemed refusals for example. When we came under access, our resources were frankly overwhelmed by an unpredictable volume of requests. We had hired three full-time and one part-time staff for the ATI office based on the advice we had received from other organizations about how many requests we could reasonably expect in the first year. No one predicted we would receive 434 requests in the first two months alone. This led to complaints about delays in responding within 30 days—the deemed refusals.
In 2007/2008, our deemed refusal rate was about 80.5%. We have worked very hard since then to fix this. We've dedicated more resources—we now have seven full-time staff to process requests. We've developed better internal procedures, and we've worked collaboratively with the commissioner's staff to respond to complaints in a way that is prioritized and transparent. I can tell you that our record has improved every year since.
Last year, as the commissioner reported, our deemed refusal rate was down to 50.7%. This year, to the end of February, it has fallen to 20.17%. In fact, in this fiscal year we have received one deemed refusal complaint, which was subsequently withdrawn.
The average number of days it has taken to respond to a request has also dropped, from a high of 187 to 61. As I said, we're working at this and we are committed to meeting the commissioner's expectations.
We've also been doing more. This year we posted on our websites over 24,000 pages of documents that have been released under access to information so that they are easily available to any Canadian. These documents include information on agendas, audits, policies, and retreats, as well as all invoices submitted with the expenses of senior management. This is in addition to the expense reports we already publish proactively each quarter. As you know, posting this material goes beyond what is required under the act. In fact, no other federal institution has made so many access documents available on its websites, and we will enhance this service and keep adding additional categories of information in the months ahead.
We continue, though, to receive a large volume of requests for access to information. In fact, of the organizations graded in the commissioner's most recent report, we recorded the highest number of new requests: 247 for the year ending March 31, 2010. The next closest was 108 at Atomic Energy of Canada. Canada Post received 78. The Information Commissioner received 28. In total, as of March 4, CBC/Radio-Canada has received 1,340 requests for information under the act. We've responded to 1,307 of those and released over 77,800 pages of information.
One would think that all of these requests reflect Canadians' interest in CBC/Radio-Canada, but by its own admission, most of these requests have been filed by Quebecor Media Inc. They have every right to do so, of course. Our own journalists use access to information to support their reporting, as the chair pointed out a few seconds ago. The difference is that we don't use ATI to seek information about our competitors and we don't use it in a campaign to further our own commercial interests. Quebecor newspapers insist they are, to quote them, “holding the public broadcaster to account”. However, that's not what they call their series. They call it “Down the Drain”, and the 66 stories they have run under that banner demonstrate that their motivation is to attack a competitor and to promote and benefit their own news channels.
For our part, as strong believers in accountability, we will keep improving our performance in handling access to information requests. But when others use that information to distort or misrepresent the facts about the public broadcaster, we will speak out.
I think I should also say a few words about the case between CBC/Radio-Canada and the information commissioner that is currently before the federal court. CBC/Radio-Canada is the only journalistic organization subject to access to information. Parliament recognized that our independence as a public broadcaster needed to be protected and, so, specifically excluded from the act information that relates to our journalistic, creative or programming activities.
The commissioner wants to be able to review material that is excluded from the legislation. We believe that only a judge should have the right to demand the disclosure of information that relates to our creative activities or is journalistic or program-related. It is important to clear up any confusion over the rules under which we operate.
Finally, a word about accountability. CBC/Radio-Canada is a $1.7 billion corporation. Two-thirds of that comes from Canadian taxpayers in our parliamentary appropriation. I believe Canadians should be assured that such an investment delivers value to them, not just in terms of the services they can see and hear every day, but in the way we operate. That is why each year we report on operations to our minister, to the CRTC, and to Parliament. It is why the Auditor General reviews our books annually, with a special audit every 10 years; it is why we post on our website the travel and hospitality expenses of our senior executives; and it is also why we are subject to access to information.
We recently published our 2015 strategic plan, a road map for what Canadians can expect from their public broadcaster over the next five years. With this plan, which is on our website, comes specific metrics to measure and report on our progress twice a year.
It is through all of these measures, Mr. Chairman, that I believe Canadians will have confidence that their investment in CBC/Radio-Canada is a good one.
Maryse and I would be happy to take your questions.