Evidence of meeting #148 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was google.
A video is available from Parliament.
May 9th, 2019 / 3:45 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Thank you very much, Chair.
When Bill C-76 was being drafted, did your organization have the opportunity to meet with the minister?
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Did you have the opportunity to meet with the ministerial staff?
3:45 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
While it was being drafted, no, we did not.
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
After the original draft was completed, with the proposed clauses, were you then approached by the minister?
3:45 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
We became aware of the proposed clauses that were being introduced at clause-by-clause at the procedure and House affairs committee, actually when it was reported publicly, at which point we approached the minister's office, first to gather further information, because there wasn't much detail with respect to what those clauses contained, and then to engage robustly with the minister's office to identify some of the concerns we had and to develop proposed amendments that would resolve those concerns.
3:45 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
It's fair to say, then, that you were not consulted by the minister or by ministerial staff until Bill C-76 came to the clause-by-clause procedure, until it became public.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
That's pretty significant.
When you went to the clause-by-clause process of Bill C-76, I'll going to assume that was in the House procedures committee, PROC. Is that correct?
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Did you explain at the time that you would not be able to comply with this legislation as it was laid out?
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
By the time Bill C-76 was amended to include the new online platforms provisions, the witness list unfortunately had already closed. As a consequence, there wasn't an opportunity to discuss that with members of the committee.
We discussed it with individual members of the committee to express some of the concerns at the time, and then certainly raised it when it was at the Senate justice committee.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Okay.
You're saying, then, that you did not have the opportunity, in the House procedures committee, to explain to the committee why this legislation would not work for your organization, why you would not be able to comply. I know it was said in the preamble that you don't prefer this term, but you did express that it would be difficult for you to comply, recognizing that, as Mr. McKay said, in deciding not to advertise in elections, you are not subjecting yourself to the non-compliance.
Did you express that at that time?
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
Do you mean after the bill was introduced? Sorry, I'm....
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Yes, no problem. Were you able to express at that time that you would not be able to comply with the legislation as it was laid out?
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
Yes. Once we were aware of the provisions, and also once we were able to obtain a copy of the proposed amendments, we engaged with the minister's office. We essentially reviewed what we have just reviewed with all of you, which is to say that there are certain aspects of those provisions that would be challenging due to our particular advertising systems. One of the possible outcomes would be that we would not be able to achieve the changes we need in the time allowed, and that we would therefore not be able to accommodate political advertising for the federal election.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
The minister and her staff were aware that you would not be able to comply as Bill C-76 was laid out. What was her response to you at that time, when you indicated that your organization would not be able to comply with the legislation as it was presented?
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
They were hopeful that we would be able to accommodate the new changes.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
They didn't articulate anything more than that, except for, basically, a desire for us to be able to implement the new changes. Also at that time, procedurally, they expressed that because it had already proceeded to clause by clause and was going to the Senate, essentially we should raise our concerns with the Senate in the hope to obtain the amendments we were seeking.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
Did you have any conversations with the minister or her staff regarding the tools you rolled out in the U.S., which you went into some detail on here?
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
What was her response in regard to the tools that were rolled out in the U.S. comparative to the legislation that was presented in Bill C-76? What was her response to those tools, and did she mention if there was any gap between those two items?
3:50 p.m.
Public Policy and Government Relations Counsel, Google Canada
Well certainly, they were aware of the tools that we had introduced in the U.S. mid-terms, and essentially they were hoping that with the introduction of the changes to Bill C-76, we would introduce similar tools in Canada. It was really a matter of going through the details about why the specific provisions in Bill C-76 would make this challenging, which is where we had a back and forth. Essentially, they were looking for us to introduce tools similar to what we had there.
3:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore, AB
In looking to introduce tools similar to what you have within the U.S., why are you not able to introduce these tools within the Canadian system, and why do they not comply with Bill C-76?