Madam Speaker, I would like to begin by stating I believe the government remains committed to the principles of openness and accountability inherent in the Access to Information Act. Bill C-216 provides us with a valuable opportunity to discuss these principles and to determine the most appropriate means of balancing them against other competing public interests.
Bill C-216 proposes that Parliament extend coverage of the Access to Information Act to federal crown corporations. According to recent lists there are 48 parent crown corporations, of which 27 are subject to the act. Current coverage is sporadic.
For example, the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Film Development Corporation are subject to both the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Canada Post Corporation and the Export Development Corporation are covered only under privacy legislation. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as my colleague discussed at length, on the other hand, are not subject to either act.
Consequently, what this bill considers is including the remaining 21 crown corporations in schedule 1 of the Access to information Act.
The standing committee on justice and the solicitor general examined this issue in 1987 during its review of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act. In the report entitled “Open and Shut: Enhancing the right to know and the right to privacy”, the committee made three recommendations.
The first was to extend coverage of both acts to all crown corporations and wholly owned subsidiaries. The second recommendation was to apply the legislation if the Government of Canada controls a public institution by means of a power of appointment over the majority of the members of the agency's governing body or committee. Finally, the committee proposed that the acts apply to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation but provide an exemption in relation to its program material, again as my colleague went into in detail.
The government responded to the committee's report by promising to review the proposals from the perspectives of the need for openness and to promote government accountability, the role of the institution involved and the need to ensure that any extension of the act will be in the public interest. Therefore it is in the context of these elements that we must examine the merits of Bill C-216.
They may be summarized as the need to support openness in government, the absolute necessity to consult with organizations that potentially could be affected by this amendment, and the necessity to ensure that there are provisions within the Access to Information Act to protect the legitimate commercial and competitive interests of the crown corporations.
The bill does reinforce the message we receive routinely from the Canadian people. They want a more open and accountable government. They believe they have a right to obtain information controlled by federal institutions, whether the institution is a department, an agency or a crown corporation. It is important to note that this right is already afforded to them in other jurisdictions.
Recent provincial freedom of information acts have established a precedent for including crown corporations within the scope of their legislation. For instance, although my province of Ontario has laws which cover crown corporations that deliver services and programs, the legislation contains a clear exemption for commercially valuable or sensitive information. The same applies to Alberta and B.C.
I also recognize that Bill C-216 stands for access and privacy. It complements a private member's motion that the government make all crown corporations subject to the Privacy Act, which was also alluded to by the opposition. This motion was debated in the House in April of last year and was passed.
While the federal government is committed to openness and accountability of government, we also have a commitment to protecting privacy rights.
The enhancement of these rights was recently outlined in a public discussion paper entitled “The protection of personal information: Building Canada's information economy and society”.
This paper examines the privacy issues surrounding electronic commerce and associated consumer transactions. It addresses the need to develop legislation that will permit Canadians to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by advances in technology.
At the same time, it proposes the means by which the security of their personal information can be protected in the private sector.
Before supporting any amendments to the Access of Information Act to the category of crown corporations we must take into account the other two elements to which I referred earlier, the need to consult with crown corporations themselves and the need to ensure there are provisions within the legislation to adequately protect their legitimate interests.
We must recognize it would be absolutely necessary to consult with the affected crown corporations and identify any unique circumstances under which they operate. It would be essential that we consider adjustments to existing legislation to avoid causing damage to the commercial interests of one or more of the organizations.
From the perspective of encouraging openness in government, I appreciate the intent underlying Bill C-216. However, in its extremely brief form it does not strike an appropriate balance between promoting the accountability of public institutions on one hand and on the other the requirement to protect the public's interest in ensuring that the operations of its crown corporations are not unfairly compromised. Consequently, I cannot support Bill C-216 because it fails to achieve this balance.
I would like to compliment the mover of Bill C-216, however. Although I cannot support it in its current form I did support its thorough airing as a votable bill since it addresses a subject of great interest to the Canadian public.