Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. We're pleased to appear before the committee today to explain how the Department of Justice administers the Access to Information Act.
My name is Marie-Josée Thivierge, and I'm the assistant deputy minister of the management sector and chief financial officer at the Department of Justice. I'm joined today by Francine Farley, director of our access to information and privacy office. The ATIP office is one of many organizations within my sector.
Mindful of the interest of the committee in the reform of the Access to Information Act, and the fact that work is currently being led by the president of the Treasury Board, my colleague and I, the administrators at Justice, are here today to talk about the administration of the act, and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Before I briefly describe the department's access to information function and our experience with the administration of the act, I think it might be helpful if I provided a bit of context on the department.
The Department of Justice has three distinctive roles within the Government of Canada. It acts as a policy department with broad responsibilities for overseeing all matters relating to the administration of justice. In this capacity it helps to ensure a fair, relevant, and accessible justice system for all Canadians. It also is a provider of a range of legal advisory, litigation, and legislative services to government departments and agencies, and is a central agency responsible for supporting the minister in advising cabinet on all legal matters. Justice Canada is a department of close to 4,400 FTEs. Approximately half our employees are lawyers, and many are located in client departments to provide legal advice.
In administering the Access to Information Act, the department strives to give full disclosure of information requested by Canadians, but we do so recognizing important exceptions provided under the act. For example, when processing requests, the Department of Justice often applies the solicitor-client privilege exemption, section 23 of the act. In 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada said that the protection of solicitor-client privilege should be as close to absolute as possible because it is a cornerstone of Canada's legal system.
Also, Justice, as many other departments, will exclude cabinet confidences, section 69; and protect personal information, section 19; and advice on operations of government, section 21, where warranted.
Another role of the ATIP office at Justice is to provide advice and training to other federal departments on the application of the solicitor-client privilege.
Having provided the context, I propose to move on to a few highlights from 2014-15.
The Department of Justice received 520 access to information requests, a slight decrease from the previous year. It also received 587 ATI-related advisory requests, the vast majority of which were about solicitor-client privilege. Although this is a 36% decrease from the previous year, the fact remains that the number of advisory matters was greater than the number of ATI requests from the public. The importance ascribed to the solicitor-client privilege exception is one reason for this.
The Access to Information and Privacy Office also handles what are known as informal requests, aimed at having information in the department's possession made public. In 2014-15, a total of 148 of these unofficial requests were processed. The departmental entity that administers the Access to Information Act employs 19 full-time equivalents and two consultants, who work closely with other officials to ensure compliance with the act.
Before the Treasury Board's recent interim directive was issued, our department was applying a reproduction fee waiver policy in cases where the number of pages to be disclosed to the requester was less than 400 pages, or where the requester wished to receive documents in CD format. Going forward, no fees, other than application fees, will be billed. And in 2014-15, the total of the $5 application fees, collected on account of requests received, was $2,625.
Even though the number of applications received by the Department of Justice is lower than what other departments tend to receive, our department continues to improve performance with a view to ensuring that its services meet the highest standards of quality.
In 2014-15, our ATIP office joined an online ATIP request pilot project. Thanks to this project, Canadians can submit applications online under the act and pay the $5 fee electronically. This avoids the need to submit a cheque with each application.
In addition, we have implemented a web application platform for the transfer of information with offices of primary interest.
In keeping with the 10 Principles of Fair Information Practice in place at our ATIP office, and with the Treasury Board Secretariat's directives and policies, our department continues to post its annual reports to Parliament, as well as summaries of completed requests, on its website, as part of our effort to improve communications with requesters, and to increase transparency.
In the realm of education and training, our staff regularly provides department employees with advice and training on the application of the act. In 2014-15, more than 500 employees received training sessions.
In closing, Justice has been an active member in the community of access to information administrators, which has led to the sharing and the adoption of best practices, all with a view to ensuring that government information is available to the public consistent with the spirit and the letter of the act.
Mr. Chair, committee members, we would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have.
Thank you very much.