Evidence of meeting #71 for Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was privacy.
A video is available from Parliament.
NDP
Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Mr. Dufresne, the departmental plan states that in your coming year, your office will continue to engage with government officials to raise awareness of your office's funding needs. Specifically, what are your office's funding needs?
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Our funding needs would be to have increased budgets. I would say a 50% increase of our current budget would be required to address the chronic underfunding that we have.
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Our current funding is $30 million, so it would be half of that. We have specific requests for potential Bill C-27 responsibilities in terms of additional guidance and additional investigation responsibilities.
NDP
Matthew Green NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Will that have a material impact on the operations of your office?
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
It will have a material impact in terms of proactivity, in terms of volume and in terms of time for complaints. We want our complaints responses to be faster. We want them to—
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
In terms of the timing, we asked for a temporary budget to help us with that. We've received that, so we're going to use it to improve the timing. However, it remains an issue that I want to address.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you, Mr. Green.
Mr. Dufresne, I have a question for you.
The Bank of Canada governor has indicated that they are going to pursue a study of digital currency. Have you, or has your office, been contacted to participate with the Bank of Canada on a study on digital currency? Do you expect that you will be participating?
Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
I'm not aware.... I have not personally been contacted. My staff, my office, may have been contacted at the official level, but I don't know. Certainly our position would be that a privacy impact assessment should be done at the front end of impactful initiatives. I would welcome them to reach out in this respect.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Dufresne.
Thank you, Ms. Maynard.
That concludes our first panel.
On behalf of the committee, I thank you for being here today.
We're going to suspend for a few minutes as we change our panels. We'll return in a couple of minutes.
Thank you.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
We are ready to resume the meeting on the main estimates.
First of all, for the second hour, I would like to welcome Nancy Bélanger, Commissioner of Lobbying, from the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.
Welcome, Ms. Bélanger.
From the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, we have two guests: Melanie Rushworth, director of communications, outreach and planning, and Sandy Tremblay, director, corporate management.
Ms. Bélanger, you have up to five minutes to address the committee. Please start.
Nancy Bélanger Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on the main estimates, together with my colleagues from the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
The Lobbying Act requires that I maintain the registry of lobbyists, that I offer education to increase awareness and understanding of the lobbying regime and that I conduct compliance work to ensure that the Lobbying Act and the Lobbyists' Code of Conduct are respected.
I would highlight that, in 2022‑23, a record of almost 8,500 lobbyists were active in the year, with nearly 7,000 lobbyists registered at any given time. The number of active registrations at any given time grew to over 5,300 from 4,900 in 2021‑22. Reports of oral and arranged communications with designated public office holders reached a record high, at over 30,500 communications. We reached more than 700 stakeholders through approximately 80 presentations. In addition to the files we had carried over, we initiated 29 preliminary assessments and determined that no further action was required in 24 cases. We initiated three investigations and made one referral to the RCMP.
Priorities for the current fiscal year include the continuous improvement of the registry of lobbyists. This work always aims at making it easier to input and find information about registered lobbying. We also plan to provide more research reports and statistics in the registry.
On the education front, we will work to ensure that lobbyists understand the updated Lobbyists' Code of Conduct that should come into force this summer. We are also developing ways to expand affected individuals' awareness and understanding of the act. This includes using stakeholder feedback to help focus our educational activities and reach an even greater number of individuals.
This year, we will also refine our guidance on the application and enforcement of the Lobbying Act so that stakeholders have access to clearer and more comprehensive information.
As for our work in compliance, the Lobbying Act requires that an investigation be conducted when I have reason to believe that it is necessary to ensure compliance. We are advancing on 37 ongoing files, of which 33 are preliminary assessments and four are investigations. When I have reasonable grounds to believe an offence has occurred, I refer the matter to the appropriate police authority and suspend the matter. At the conclusion of an investigation, my findings are reported to Parliament.
The office delivers on its mandate and fulfills its corporate functions through the invaluable work of a small number of dedicated employees, which has recently averaged 28 staffed positions.
My total annual budget is approximately $5.5 million. Roughly $4 million goes to salaries and benefits for 33 full-time employees, leaving an operating budget of $1.5 million. About $700,000 of that operating budget is spent to obtain services such as HR and information technology management from other government institutions.
This is a very small budget envelope. It provides little flexibility to reallocate resources or to hire additional employees. Many people in our office hold multiple responsibilities. Even at 33 positions, we do not have adequate depth or backup, in particular when we encounter new corporate responsibilities or plan innovations to better deliver on our mandate. Despite this challenge, we foster an exceptional work environment through career development, employee retention efforts and mental health initiatives.
I was very pleased that the office was identified in budget 2023 to receive an additional ongoing $400,000. This will give us the flexibility to hire four additional indeterminate staff to help alleviate, somewhat, the depth-of-capacity risks. If our submission to the government is approved, we should receive these funds in late fall.
I would like to conclude by thanking each and every employee of the office. They know how grateful I am for their dedication, professionalism and excellence in delivering on our mandate.
Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you. I will welcome your questions.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you, Ms. Bélanger.
I'm now going to give the floor to the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner.
Sandy, I see that your microphone is on.
Please go ahead. You have up to five minutes to address the committee.
Sandy Tremblay Director, Corporate Management, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
First off, I'd like to thank you for inviting us to appear before you today to talk about the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's achievements over the past year as well as its plans for the upcoming year.
My name is Sandy Tremblay and I'm director of corporate management and chief financial officer at the office. I'm here today with Melanie Rushworth, who is director of communications, outreach and planning, and also responsible for parliamentary affairs.
At the administrative level, the office has 51 full-time employees and had a budget of $8.1 million in the previous fiscal year. Although we were able to fulfill our mandate with that amount, we underwent a reallocation exercise in order to better target our resources based on available programs, with an emphasis on supporting consultation and awareness-raising services. To that end, Mario Dion, the former commissioner, had asked for a budget increase of a little under $200,000 for the current fiscal year, representing about 2% of our budget.
While the majority of the $8.3-million budget for the office—a little over 80%—is for salaries, from an information technology standpoint, 65% of the professional services budget provides for an IT agreement for support and development from the House of Commons administration.
Part of the work we have been undertaking with their expertise in the past two fiscal years is to develop a new system that will consolidate the declaration portal, the case management system and the public registry, including the ability to securely receive financial documents. When complete, the new system will be rolled out with appropriate internal and external educational materials to aid in a successful transition. We anticipate being in a position later this fiscal year to present to PROC for approval the new forms under the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons that underpin the system.
The office seeks to show Canadians and Parliament that they can trust in its ability to fulfill its duties and functions under the Parliament of Canada Act and to use the funds at its disposal responsibly and efficiently, in other words, that it is a trusted manager of public funds.
I'd now like to yield the floor to Melanie Rushworth, who will outline some of the work we do with public office holders and the public.
Melanie Rushworth Director, Communications, Outreach and Planning, Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner
Thank you.
One of the key functions of the office is demonstrated in its commitment to providing timely, expert advice to regulatees such as public office holders and members of the House of Commons. A team of advisers provides confidential one-on-one advice that has been instrumental in preventing conflicts of interest before they arise, in promoting responsible decision-making and in safeguarding the public's interests.
This group has been stretched, as the number of regulatees has grown by 6% in the last five years, or by 178 people. This growth is in fact a 15% increase in reporting public office holders, which is the group that requires the most interaction with an adviser as part of the initial compliance process. The reallocation of funds has added one more full-time employee to this team.
With the intention of ensuring that regulatees better understand the requirements of the Conflict of Interest Act and the code, the office has expanded its educational programs. The first step was two important surveys that were undertaken in 2022, one for all public office holders and a second tailored to members of the House of Commons. The response rates for each of these surveys were 30% and 43% respectively, which has provided good insight for our planning.
Recognizing the importance of proactive measures, the office has implemented initiatives aimed at preventing conflicts of interest by educating regulatees about their obligations. It aims to foster a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour throughout the tenure of all regulatees, with further learning reinforced during initial compliance meetings and with ongoing discussions with a personal adviser. Anticipating the changes to the code that pertain to education, former commissioner Dion prioritized funds for this fiscal year to prepare to provide individualized mandatory training for members within the first 120 days of their confirmation of election.
One of the notable accomplishments of the office has been its dedication to the publication of reports and related investigations into potential conflicts of interest in a timely manner. All reports by former commissioner Dion were completed within a year, and in his last year as commissioner, five reports were published.
Given the work undertaken over the past year, the office is well positioned moving forward.
We welcome any questions the committee might have about the work of the office.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Thank you to both of you for your statements.
Just as a reminder to the committee, we have some things that we need to dispose of at the end of the meeting.
Mr. Barrett, are you up for six minutes?
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative John Brassard
Okay. I'm sorry. I had Mr. Kurek here. Go ahead. I'm going to stick to the timelines. That's the point I was making. Thanks.
Go ahead, Mr. Barrett.
Conservative
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Thanks, Chair.
Thanks to the witnesses for being here today. Commissioner Bélanger, it's nice to see you again.
I have a couple of quick questions for you.
What would your reaction be if the government cut your salary by $110,000? Do you think that would send a message of support for transparency in the service that your office provides?
Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
I am going to hope that never happens. That's the first thing I'm going to say. I would fight, and I would fight greatly, if that were to ever happen. I don't see that it will, because I was just in the budget of 2023, but that would have a very serious impact not only on our work but on the morale of the team, which to me is absolutely important. I have the most dedicated employees, and that would be really tough, so I hope that never happens.
Conservative
Michael Barrett Conservative Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, ON
Yes, I think that proposing a cut to a commissioner's salary signals future cuts to the budget and not an eye on the important work that our independent officers of Parliament do. I thank your staff, and the staff here on behalf of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner's office as well.
Commissioner, how many investigations have you referred to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?
Commissioner of Lobbying, Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying
In the past year, it was one.
Conservative