Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone.
I am Leslie Weir, librarian and archivist of Canada. Thank you for the invitation to appear before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. My apologies for being unable to be with you on Monday.
I look forward to discussing the context of the state of access to information in Canada, with emphasis on the mandate and work of Library and Archives Canada.
As you probably know, part of Library and Archives of Canada's mandate is to serve as a source of enduring knowledge that is accessible to all and to act as the continuing memory of the Government of Canada and its institutions.
For years, enhancing the user experience has been central to our efforts to make collections in our care more discoverable and more accessible. LAC has a distinct role in providing access to historical government records for over 300 federal organizations and departments, of which more than 170 are still active. This means that we are the primary channel for providing access to billions of pages of archival records.
I would venture to say that LAC has a very broad and complex mission, particularly given that the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act were both enacted before the advent of the digital age. Nevertheless, we have made substantial efforts to work on delivering results to Canada in that regard.
LAC has received temporary funding to help reduce the backlog of access to information and privacy requests accumulated in the past and to meet our legal obligations. This funding has been invaluable for advancing that work. For example, in 2024-25, we reduced our backlog by 40%. As for new requests, 85% are being responded to within the legislated time frames.
These improvements are the result of a radical revamp of our approach to access to information and privacy. One of the causes of our backlog was the need to consult departments for processing many requests for access to information. Thanks to new archival research processes, these consultations have been decreased by 95.6% since January 2023.
We have also revised many processes to make information available without ATI review. One example is investment in block review, which takes a risk-based approach to releasing tranches of archival records. This is a more resource-effective method for providing access to archival records, compared to reviewing in the course of a formal ATI request. Through temporary funding, the block review team recently opened more than 19 million—yes, 19 million—pages of archival documents that can now be accessed without going through ATIP.
In 2024, we launched a database that allows users to find and download completed requests for archival records. We are also increasing access to historical military records. By 2030, 64% of Second World War military personnel records will not require an ATIP review before being released.
Even before records are sent to us for archiving, LAC plays an important role in the information management of the Government of Canada. Under the Library and Archives of Canada Act, no government record may be disposed of without my written consent as the librarian and archivist of Canada. Written consent is provided through what are known as disposition authorizations. These identify the government records of archival value that must be transferred to LAC upon the expiry of retention periods. The accountability for setting retention periods rests with each institution. LAC provides the tools and guidance to assist in doing so, as well as the guidance to support the proper and documented disposition of records.
Moving forward, we will continue to carry out our mandate with diligence, making the most of the flexibility and the resources at our disposal. We will keep striving to make as much information as possible accessible to Canadians.
Thank you for the opportunity to address the committee. I'll be happy to respond to your questions.