Evidence of meeting #28 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 pipeda.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
Yes, that sounds good.
All right. Is there anything else, colleagues?
Mr. Dewing.
Michael Dewing Committee Researcher
Do we have direction about when you would like to report on the Privacy Act?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
Sorry, there is one last thing we need to do, and this is an excellent opportunity to give our analysts a little bit of direction. We're winding down the study on the Privacy Act and we need to allocate some days to go through a report. We should probably give the analysts a little bit of direction on what we would like to see in the report.
I'm not sure if anybody's ready to do that today, because we haven't heard from all of the witnesses at this particular point in time. Does anybody have a deadline in mind for when they would like that report to be in front of the House?
Liberal
Joël Lightbound Liberal Louis-Hébert, QC
Could we perhaps first agree on a date when we would like to give the analysts some directions so that we can prepare in advance for that?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
Yes, we can do that. We can set aside some time for that. Right now, I'm wondering if there is a particular deadline for when this committee wants to have a report in front of the House. Do we want to have it in just before Christmas?
Liberal
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
There's no urgency? I'm not getting a sense of urgency.
Okay, so if that's the case, basically, our analysts would begin constructing a report.
Have you guys started any preliminary construction of the report at this point in time, or do you simply have the information from the witnesses?
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
What I propose is on the meeting of the 1st, the Privacy Commissioner should be given an opportunity to come back and have a discussion with the committee based on all the testimony that was heard.
I suggest we give the first hour and a half of that meeting to the Privacy Commissioner, and then we spend the last half hour giving instruction and direction to the analysts. After that point, we wouldn't hear any more witnesses on the Privacy Act. Then the analysts can have the rest of that week and all of the break week of November to do their work. When we come back, we don't have anything in the meeting of the 15th. We can use the week of the 15th and the 17th for the consideration of the draft report.
Would that be okay? Would you have enough time for that?
Committee Researcher
It takes about a week to translate it, so if we finish, say, on the 10th, getting it by the 15th would be pretty tight.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
Then we could start the consideration maybe on the 17th, and use the 15th as our first set of witnesses for SCISA. Does that work? All right. We're good to go.
Mr. Blaikie.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
In going forward after the SCISA study and the PIPEDA study, one of the things that emerged in the Privacy Act study has been the complete lack of regulation of political parties when it comes to the protection of private information of Canadians.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
I think it would be interesting to study that further and try to get a sense of whether in our opinion government should be coming forward with some kind of new legislation in this area, or making modifications to the Elections Act, the Privacy Act, or PIPEDA. I think it's an issue Canadians would be interested in, and it speaks directly to the protection of privacy of Canadians' information.
I think this would make for a timely and interesting study upon completion of either the SCISA study or the PIPEDA study. I would move that this be our third item of business after the completion of either of those others.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Blaine Calkins
All right. That's something to think about. It would be handier for us at some point in the future to have an actual formal notice of motion, and the wording of the study, but it's something that's there.
NDP
Conservative
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Yes, I think so. At least that way we can have a conversation about whether we think this is something worth doing. I think it is, because if we don't do it, I don't see who is going to take the lead on getting a handle on what those various issues are and where the appropriate place is to have a more codified—
Conservative
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
I would move that the committee study the question of the protection of Canadians' private information with respect to political parties.
NDP
Daniel Blaikie NDP Elmwood—Transcona, MB
Yes. We would also want to look at how that might be regulated in law.
