Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to participate in the debate. I am pleased as well to follow the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona as I often find myself in debate speaking on the heels of his remarks.
He has quite fairly and accurately set out or chronicled the events that led to the appointment we have before the House today. I do not intend to delve into any great detail other than to add that I think his chronology is quite accurate. I want the record to show that the Progressive Conservative Party put forward the name of Mr. Reid but in a very informal way.
It is important to note this was not a set in stone process. Suffice it to say the name was very well received and received in a very timely way by the government. As the hon. member mentioned, the timing of his appearance before the committee leads one to believe or at least be somewhat suspect that it was not a new name or the suggestion was not the pivotal factor in the government's decision to bring forward his name.
Be that as it may, we have before us an individual who is obviously very qualified, an individual who will fulfil the very important role of information commissioner. The information commissioner would be an officer of parliament and not of the government. That is a key point. The commissioner will be our commissioner, the commissioner of the Canadian people, the commissioner of this place, this House, not the government's commissioner. In light of that, I was pleased that I was a part of the consultation and part of a process that resulted in this nomination being before the House today.
Earlier speakers have touched upon the fact that we have seen an improvement in the process of the selection of the information commissioner. Although it is not perfect and some flaws still exist, it is an improvement. The hon. member used the expression of baby steps. It is perhaps a little more than that. At least now we have a transparent process that allows members of a committee to directly question the nominated candidate. I refer to him as a nominated candidate but it was really not that formal.
This name came forward as the result of a conversation between myself and the government House leader. I presume a similar conversation took place between the hon. member for Winnipeg—Transcona and the government House leader. The process moved along somewhat differently than it had in the past where the Prime Minister, on the initiative of a party suggestion I would assume, appointed the commissioner.
I do not intend to go through the entire chronology of what happened but there is a necessity in this debate to have a little review of the history of the information act itself. It is a proud history with respect to the involvement of the Progressive Conservative Party.
The Access to Information Act is generally acknowledged as having been sired by the late Ged Baldwin who sat as a Progressive Conservative caucus member from the district of Peace River. Mr. Speaker, you may remember the late Ged Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin began his campaign for the freedom of information legislation in 1969.
The Progressive Conservative government of the Right Hon. Joe Clark introduced the first government sponsored bill for access to information in 1979. Mr. Speaker, you would certainly recall that, being the student of parliament I know you are. The bill, which did not satisfy all of Mr. Baldwin's wishes, did go a long way to setting up what we now have before the House in the form of an information commissioner. Despite the casualty, the unfortunate fall of Mr. Clark's government, this initiative was continued by subsequent governments. The present statute was sponsored and passed by the Hon. Francis Fox in 1982 and was proclaimed into law in 1983.
A fourteen year struggle preceded the point we are at today. It was a struggle to forge what Mr. Baldwin called an unholy alliance of parliament and press and the public versus the bureaucracy. Mr. Baldwin saw the existing statute as a beginning. He placed great faith in the commissioner of parliament to improve the existing law.
After 15 years of experience with the 1983 law, it is generally recognized that the law needs review and improvement. The act was drafted before the explosion of computers, including the appearance of computers even here in the Chamber, and electronic mail which is routinely in use in parliament, and the universal use of the delete button that accompanies every computer. There are certainly new conditions, new physical parameters, electronic and technological advances that perhaps even Mr. Baldwin with his great foresight and knowledge of the use of information could not have foreseen in those bygone years.
These are important issues for us in parliament to address today. I acknowledge in the name of Mr. Reid which is before the House today, that who is better to advance this cause than a former parliamentarian? Who better to understand the needs of parliament itself than an individual who has been elected, a person who understands the system and how parliament works with the expectations and the pressures that come to bear?
I am pleased and state uncategorically that we in the Conservative Party support the nomination and the affirmation of Mr. Reid to this position. The Hon. John Reid has demonstrated an ability to achieve results within parliament. This will be very important in his new role as commissioner and certainly very important in the task he will take on to bring parliament into the 21st century.
He has a record of integrity and independence, a person who has shown he is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in when called upon to do so. He has told prime ministers and party leaders that they were wrong on occasion, perhaps at a cost to his own political career. He does bring a spirit of commitment to access to information, as well as a distinguished history of parliamentary service. I think this will serve parliament well.
Equally important, Mr. Reid is prepared to address the culture of secrecy that sometimes surrounds this place and is ever present in our public service. This challenge is formidable in the sense that we know a great deal of bureaucracy exists. There are times when the information is so extensive and massive it seems it is almost impossible to sort through the volume of information.
As the reports of the previous commissioner have pointed out, it is going to be a very challenging task that awaits Mr. Reid.
In closing, I acknowledge the diligent work of the retired commissioner John Grace. Mr. Grace served the Canadian people well, served the post to which he was appointed very well, and we are grateful to him. We in the Progressive Conservative Party and all Canadians are grateful to the yeoman service he did as the information commissioner. We are content that his vigorous efforts will be continued and strengthened by the appointment of Mr. Reid.
To put some finality on my remarks, I add the names of the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to the list of previous speakers wishing Mr. Reid Godspeed and congratulations for his well-deserved appointment. We hope that he will bring great honour and integrity to his new post.