Information & Ethics Committee on May 14th, 2019

[Caroline Maynard]

We have to go through the Treasury Board application process just like any other institution. Ideally, even a provision in the Access to Information Act would allow me to come back here to committee to request additional funding, depending on the needs of that year. The Chief Electoral Officer and Mr. Dion, the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, have such a provision in the legislation that governs them.

Personally, I think the best process for an officer of Parliament would be to have a special committee that receives requests for funding. That would help in meeting deadlines that can vary from year to year. Should the percentage increase, the financial response would be immediate and specific to the year.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Do you believe that your financial needs essentially or even totally have to do with human resources?

[Caroline Maynard]

Yes. The only thing I currently need is more staff.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

How could additional resources help you meet current demand when there are problems within agencies that have to respond to you and do not have the resources to do so?

You mentioned the RCMP and other institutions that need resources. The permanent solution lies not just in your agency, but in providing all departments with the necessary teams to have ongoing interaction.

[Caroline Maynard]

Yes.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

As far as processing time is concerned, we were all surprised to hear that there is a file that has been lingering since 2007.

Depending on the nature of the investigations you conduct, isn't there a mechanism like the Jordan principle where after five years everything is annulled? That might be advantageous or disadvantageous for you, which might explain why we can't do it.

[Caroline Maynard]

No, the Access to Information Act currently does not allow us to stop an investigation. We have to see the investigation through for every complaint until we have addressed every aspect of the complaint.

However, if Bill C-58 passes, that will give me the authority to stop investigations into frivolous complaints or complaints from people with ill will. For the same reasons, the institutions will have the right to refuse to respond to a request.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Would you be able to do so based only on criteria established by the act?

[Caroline Maynard]

Yes.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Could other criteria be added?

[Caroline Maynard]

No, this will be based only on what is already set out in the act and will apply to new requests only.

All the files currently being processed will be subject to the current act. I will be able to use the new provisions on new requests to help us better process the complaints.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

I see flashes. Is that my age?

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Zimmer]

I don't see them continuing. We'll let you know.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

I would like to come back to what you said about responding electronically. Are the requests made electronically or are the responses provided electronically?

[Caroline Maynard]

People wanting to file a complaint with the commissioner can now do so online. The complaints form is available on our website.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

That makes the process easier and may increase the number of complaints as a result.

[Caroline Maynard]

Yes, the number of complaints has increased, but in fact, not as a result of putting the form online. The number of complaints has increased since people started requesting a lot more information.

The number of complaints about institutions has increased by 225% in six years. We now have 100,000 requests for access to information within the government. I receive 2,500 complaints a year. You get an idea of roughly what the percentages are.

Canadians understand and are more aware of their right to access information. They are curious. There is also a risk of more proactive disclosure. Often people do not stop there. They want to read the underlying documents. There is no doubt that the more requests there are, the more complaints there will be.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

In other sectors, including the private sector, when it comes to taxation for example, automated systems are used to answer frequently asked questions.

Are such mechanisms being considered or applicable in your case?

[Caroline Maynard]

I would say no for now.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

It is not being considered or it is not applicable?

[Caroline Maynard]

It is not applicable.

To me the biggest problem right now, as far as the government is concerned, is information management. We are living in a digital age and the people in the government or the institutions are making decisions through email. There are a lot of email exchanges and that takes the most time to sort through.

There may be a request for information on a decision that was made. Out of the 500 emails that were submitted, only three might be relevant because the person who wrote the emails does not sort them properly or does not manage information well.

We end up with huge digital files containing emails that do not really relate to the complainants' requests.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

If the agency responding to you submitted a hundred or so emails and sorted the email themselves, wouldn't that have an impact on the responsibility for deciding what is relevant?

[Caroline Maynard]

It is everyone's responsibility and the law does not allow us to erase the company's information. The current problem is that no one sorts or cleans up the information.

Decisions should not be made through email either. Decisions should be made with the help of documents, as they are in the case of financial expenses, where there is real decision-making that includes signatures and authorities who conduct audits. That type of information is easy to obtain.

However, when we are talking about internal policies and directives, or major discussions within an institution, we realize there are a lot of things that should not be there.

[Michel Picard, Liberal, Montarville, QC]

Okay.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Bob Zimmer]

By the way, that was just a quorum call. That's why the bells went off briefly. It looks like it's fine now.

Next up is Monsieur Gourde for five minutes.