Information & Ethics Committee on Nov. 5th, 2024

[Parm Bains, Liberal, Steveston—Richmond East, BC]

Simply, if there is suspicion that they're not being transparent, a complaint can come in, and you would investigate and continue in that manner. Is that correct?

[Nancy Bélanger]

Yes.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Bains. Your five minutes are up.

Mr. Villemure, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

First of all, Ms. Maynard and Ms. Bélanger, rest assured that I'll get there.

Ms. Maynard, the Privacy Commissioner often refers to privacy as a fundamental right. Do you think that access to information should be considered as such?

[Nancy Bélanger]

The Supreme Court of Canada has already recognized that access to information is a quasi-constitutional right. Should the act be amended to codify it? It's really up to parliamentarians to consider it during the next legislative review. That being said, it's certainly a right that belongs to Canadians.

Given its importance to Canadians, why not codify it in the Access to Information Act?

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So you're in favour of it being included in the law.

[Caroline Maynard]

Absolutely.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

What do you think of the Access to Information Modernization Action Plan, which was published by the Treasury Board Secretariat?

[Caroline Maynard]

It is an action plan. As I mentioned several times, I like to see results, whether it’s the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada or the system in general. An action plan is one thing, but seeing the results and the actions taken is another.

So we keep waiting to see results. The system needs love, but right now, it would be hard to say that it's getting better.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So it's a plan without any concrete action.

[Caroline Maynard]

It's a plan that includes measures, but no deadline or end results. There aren't really any tables or results.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So it's a plan.

[Caroline Maynard]

It's a plan.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Do you think that the hesitant measures proposed in that action plan are likely to undermine the public’s confidence in the access to information system and its credibility?

[Caroline Maynard]

Ultimately, I don’t think citizens see the difference, but they realize that they don’t get timely answers. They don't receive the information they want within the time limits set out in the act.

Institutions aren't getting the help they need from their departments, or from the government in general, to meet this growing demand.

Again this year, over 200,000 access requests were sent to the government. I received over 300 complaints a month. So there are 4,000 or 5,000 complaints a year. It isn't getting any better. We need resources, we need to invest, we need to innovate. We need better information management.

The government says it wants to take those measures, but at the end of the day, we don't really see any results.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Okay.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Villemure.

Mr. Green, you have two and a half minutes. Go ahead.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Ms. Maynard, what are the reasons motivating you to accept a second term as the Information Commissioner of Canada?

[Caroline Maynard]

I have to say that the last seven years have gone so fast and we have done so much. I presented you with a list of things that we've accomplished. I have worked on the backlog. I have worked with institutions. I have issued more orders. I have presented honestly to you what things are happening and how things can be changed, and there's a momentum.

I feel that we can definitely build on what we have accomplished so far, and I do believe that we need to continue to work on the system. There are solutions. My systemic investigations are examples of recommendations for solutions that the government can implement. I'm still waiting, in some cases.... For example, I'm waiting for an IRCC portal that will provide the information outside of the system, but I do believe there's hope that the system will get better.

I would love to be part of the legislative review in 2025 because of the experience that I now have. When I was here in 2018, when Bill C-58 was presented and tabled, I didn't have the experience that I have now to provide recommendations based on investigations that I have done for seven years.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

You have some unfinished business.

[Caroline Maynard]

Totally.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

I appreciate that.

Ms. Bélanger, I'm going to ask you the same question.

What are the reasons motivating you to accept a second term as Commissioner of Lobbying of Canada?

[Nancy Bélanger]

I also have unfinished business. I have found this work completely.... I'm passionate about this. I've been with agents of Parliament since 2007, and I want to continue. I absolutely love the people I work with. I believe in this mandate. We have done a lot. Seven years—I agree with you, Caroline—have flown by, but there's still more to be done, and I believe I can get it done with my team, obviously.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

I believe that to be the case for both of you as well. Thank you.

Those are my questions.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Green.

We're going to go to Mr. Caputo, and then we're going to go to Mr. Fisher.

Just before we do, I'm going to reset. We can have six-minute rounds, if we want, to conclude, and then I would say we call it a day after that. There's an appropriate motion that needs to be addressed by the committee in order to confirm to Parliament that we're in agreement with the proposal that our two commissioners be appointed, so we're going to go down that path, if that's okay.

Mr. Caputo is next, followed by Mr. Fisher.

Go ahead.