Evidence of meeting #2 for Library of Parliament in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was library.
A recording is available from Parliament.
The Joint Chair Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
Sorry for interrupting you, Mrs. Ivory. You can continue.
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
The library is a service organization at heart. Our primary focus must be to continually improve and customize our products to provide high-quality service to parliamentarians from all parties in both Houses.
Balancing the various roles of the library presents both challenges and opportunities. While maintaining its historical role as a memory institution, it must also transform both as a knowledge organization and a public-facing destination. The opening of the parliamentary welcome centre provides a unique opportunity for the library to work with you and parliamentary partners to usher in a new era of citizen programming at Parliament.
Given current public distrust in public institutions, the reopening of Centre Block offers the chance to rethink and alter the visitor experience into a visitor engagement experience, where the people of Canada and all visitors can learn about Parliament, but also participate, connect and be part of Canadian democracy. Achieving this will require extensive consultations with you, partners and diverse groups to implement a bold and long-term vision.
Representation and reconciliation would be two of my top priorities in this role. The library's greatest strength lies in its exceptional employees. I would work closely with the management team to attract and retain a diverse and representative workforce for Parliament and Canada.
We must also ensure that our collection, our products and all our programs more fully reflect the perspectives of indigenous peoples and all marginalized and equity‑seeking communities.
The library has always been focused on client service, whether to you as parliamentarians or members of the public. To provide excellence, we must constantly consult, seek feedback and test assumptions to ensure that our services meet or exceed expectations.
In an era of fiscal constraint or restraint, I want to make sure that we are focused on the right priorities and assigning resources to services that are in demand and of high value to you as parliamentarians.
It is for this reason that, should I be appointed, I would welcome the opportunity to appear regularly before this joint committee to brief you on the plans, priorities and results of the organization and to consult with you on new initiatives to ensure that they meet the needs of both Houses.
I look forward to your questions.
The Joint Chair Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
Thank you, Ms. Ivory.
We'll now open the floor to questions.
I'm going to ask members how they would like to proceed in questioning Ms. Ivory.
We'll go by name. Just lift up your hand, and we'll call on you.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
We raise our hands if we want to ask a question. You then give the floor to the person who wants to ask the questions. That seems simple enough.
The Joint Chair Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
Okay.
We'll start with Mr. Saint‑Germain. Sorry, I should say Ms. Saint‑Germain.
Senator, Quebec (De la Vallière), ISG
I believe that it's Ms.
Good afternoon, fellow parliamentarians. Good afternoon, Ms. Ivory.
Ms. Ivory, you answered my first question, which concerned the relationship that you plan to maintain with this joint committee of the two Houses. The committee has come together only once since its inception, for an organizational meeting. I'm glad that you feel you need to consult us.
You spoke about impartiality. You serve both Houses, and you say that you'll work in an impartial environment.
However, some groups are partisan. Do you think that these groups and caucuses, such as senators or non‑partisans, should still be able to receive complete and comprehensive information and, in some cases, to analyze the various options that may be preferred by either side?
How do you approach impartiality? Does it limit the depth of your analyses?
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
Thank you for your question, senator.
Obviously, the Library's values must be neutral and impartial. However, an analysis involves taking a position and accessing the available information. An impartial approach to our analyses often means being able to show both sides of the story and provide a balanced analysis. To that end, the Library of Parliament can give the various parties and groups, including all the groups in the Senate, an in‑depth analysis that truly covers all the aspects involved. Where necessary, this analysis also includes recommendations.
We must be able to provide a balanced analysis. This is where our strength lies when it comes to neutrality and impartiality.
Senator, Quebec (De la Vallière), ISG
Thank you.
I'll give my colleagues a chance to ask questions.
The Joint Chair Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
Thank you, Ms. Ivory.
We'll now give the floor to Senator Carignan.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My comments tie in with Senator Saint‑Germain's remarks. The library has about 450 employees and a $55 million budget. This committee has held the fewest meetings in the history of committees.
It seems that you have a greater vision for accountability than this committee. You touched on this topic in your introduction. I would like you to elaborate on the role of this committee and the need for more regular meetings. This seems to have been a weakness of our committee in the past.
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
Thank you, senator.
The committee's mandate under the legislation is to help the Speakers manage and oversee the Library of Parliament. Over the years, the Library's officials have always been readily available and open to the idea of appearing more often before the committee. If I'm the nominee, I'll also do my utmost to appear before the committee.
Regular appearances before this committee would help ensure accountability, a key part of the committee's mandate. This includes coming to share our plans and priorities or to meet with you, for example, before we publish our annual report.
That said, I could see another benefit. The Library's sole responsibility is to support both Houses. Appearing before a joint committee, meaning a committee made up of senators and members of Parliament, gives us the opportunity to receive input from both Houses and to consult you on certain initiatives. This would be good for accountability. It would also give us the opportunity to work with you on setting our priorities and to consult you on initiatives.
Moreover, we must do a better job of consulting parliamentarians in general. I think that we could come to this committee and look together at the best approach. Past Library surveys have generated very little response to this type of initiative or consultation. Of course, people are busy.
We could come to you to discuss the best approach and the topics that require consultation and feedback.
Senator, Quebec (Mille Isles), C
How do you view the dual role of the Library, which must divide its resources between the Senate and the House of Commons?
I'm thinking of the Visitor Welcome Centre, for example. Last I heard, it doesn't have any documents promoting the Senate. The Senate doesn't seem to exist.
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
Thank you for the question.
We make every effort to distribute resources fairly. Our analysts and librarians prepare documents to support the work of senators and members of Parliament in equal measure. The same applies to committees and associations.
To answer your question about our public mandate, I would say that we usually make every effort to publish documents about Parliament in an equal manner, meaning for both the House and the Senate. Once I'm in office, I would need to see the situation regarding publications. In the past, we've certainly prepared content on both Houses. We always work closely with the Senate and the House before publishing documents.
The Joint Chair Hon. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia
Thank you, Mrs. Ivory.
I would like to let the committee members know that we have about fifteen minutes before we go in camera. I want to encourage them to ask shorter questions.
MP Long, it's your turn.
Liberal
Wayne Long Liberal Saint John—Rothesay, NB
Good afternoon to my colleagues.
Good afternoon, Ms. Ivory, and thank you for coming.
During your presentation, you touched on the phenomenon, if you will, of misinformation versus disinformation. Misinformation, obviously, is when you just got it wrong or somebody gave you wrong information. Disinformation is deliberate in its attempt, technically, to do harm.
I think we all understand across all parties that it is a threat to our democracy. I just wanted to get what you think the repercussions of this phenomenon are and what you can do at the Library of Parliament to prevent that from happening.
Thank you.
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
Thank you for your question.
I was looking back on presentations I've made about the services of the library over the years, and this wasn't a topic five years ago. There's been such an evolution in the challenge with disinformation and deepfakes, and it's something that we all have to contend with.
For the Library of Parliament, I think Google can be our biggest competition. Your employees, your staff, can easily look up information, and that's where the complexity and the dangers can be. I think the value added of the Library of Parliament is the work that our analysts do to really vet information. It's a challenge to go through all of that information, but we have people who are highly trained to look at information and find trustworthy sources. I think that's where we can make a difference to your work.
Senator, Ontario, CSG
Thanks very much.
You've talked a bit about challenges, and you mentioned a couple of them: misinformation, disinformation and the public's view on government.
Are there any other great challenges that you see facing the Library of Parliament in the coming year or two?
Nominee for the position of Parliamentary Librarian, As an Individual
I think every organization faces challenges, and I think the library is very well equipped to address challenges. We saw it during the pandemic.
Some of the challenges we face are similar to the ones that may be facing the House and Senate in terms of staff turnover, specifically in some areas such as finance and HR, where across all public institutions there's a lot of competition to attract talent.
Luckily, the Library of Parliament is a top employer in the region, so I'm confident that the challenge can be met.
We talked about disinformation, but the complexity of information and the need for data is also a challenge. We rely on public sources for analysis. We have to constantly evolve our collection to have access to the latest data, and that creates challenges to be on top of that to have the resources to do this and to equip our analysts and our librarians and researchers to do that work.
The other challenge that I think I mentioned is gearing up for the reopening of Centre Block. The mandate for this Parliamentary Librarian will lead up to the opening of Centre Block, and there are a lot of expectations and a need for new programming, particularly in the parliamentary welcome centre. I think that will be a big challenge and the greatest opportunity as part of this mandate.
