Thank you. I will be brief.
Thank you for inviting me to meet with you once again to discuss access to information during the COVID pandemic.
In my previous appearance before this committee, I conveyed the message I have consistently reiterated since April of last year. The right of access, a quasi-constitutional right, cannot be suspended because of the pandemic.
Government transparency is the foundation of a strong democracy and has never been more important than during this crisis. In other words, we must collectively strive to produce an access to information system in which access requests are processed in a timely manner without interruption, decisions are properly documented, and information is well managed.
At our last meeting, I highlighted some of the factors that can create barriers to transparency and undermine the government's accountability to Canadians.
I also indicated that this is an opportune time to make essential changes, starting with the business model of government and the culture that underpins it.
It was time for the government to show leadership and take action.
We now find ourselves approaching one year since the start of the pandemic. Has the government seized the opportunity to change? In my estimation, it has not, at least not to the extent I would have hoped and Canadians might have expected.
Nevertheless, some encouraging progress has been made since we last met. Indeed, over the summer, many institutions have regained some degree of capacity to deal with access to information requests.
I would like to take this opportunity to salute the outstanding efforts of employees in federal institutions who have worked diligently to restore access to information operations and respond to Canadians. I congratulate them for their creativity and initiative, which enabled them to make the most of a difficult situation.
In contrast, there are other signs that the direction taken by the government is not the right one and that few or no concrete measures have been adopted to improve the current situation. The fact that the launch of a new online access to information system has been delayed by one year is one example.
I was also disappointed by the news that a report on the review of the access to information regime, announced by Minister Duclos, would be submitted only next January. On February 3, during a conversation I had with Mr. Duclos, I took the opportunity to remind him that the principles of openness and reasonable timeliness must be respected. I also pointed out, as I have done more than once, that there were, and continue to be, concrete steps that can be taken immediately and that do not require any legislative change.
I have now also reached out to other ministers who oversee what I call our 15 top institutions. I asked them to speak with them about the state of access within their own institutions and to discuss how, as leaders, they must be part of the solution.
In a submission I shared with Minister Duclos and published on my website last January, I outlined some of the steps I believe could make an immediate difference. They include steps to address the following four issues: inadequate leadership and a lack of clear guidelines on transparency and disclosure expectations; a pressing need to innovate and to allocate enough resources to the access regime; the necessity to properly document decisions and to efficiently manage institutions' information; and the declassification of records in a timely manner.
In conclusion, let me reiterate what I have been saying for a long time: it is imperative that the government act without delay.
I will gladly answer your questions now.