Information & Ethics committee  Quebec's access to information legislation does indeed set out restrictions protecting the information provided by third parties and private enterprises under certain conditions. If the disclosure is likely to reduce the enterprise's competitive margin or result in profit for a competitor or third party, a person can request access to the document provided that it is held by a public body that entered into a contract with a private enterprise.

Information & Ethics committee  My answer is twofold. If the disclosure is done and not ongoing, efforts will be made to prevent it from happening again. The Commission d'accès à l’information du Québec, however, does not have the authority to order any compensation for damages or injury suffered by a person as a result of the disclosure.

Information & Ethics committee  It depends on the context. If a public body or enterprise disclosed personal information, the commission would deal with it through an investigation. People can file complaints with the commission, but the commission can also investigate on its own initiative to determine whether the disclosure was in compliance with the act or not.

Information & Ethics committee  Perhaps I wasn't clear. The Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec has the dual mandate you mentioned, in other words, ensuring access to documents and protecting privacy. But we have two separate divisions, an adjudication division and an oversight division. As an institution, the commission has that dual mandate.

Information & Ethics committee  That's a broad question. Some of the recommendations in Ms. Legault's report aren't relevant because Quebec's legislation is different. In fact, you pointed that out, Mr. Saini. On the whole, I'm not opposed to any of the recommendations. In our efforts to modernize Quebec's legislation, the commission actually made a number of the same recommendations Ms.

Information & Ethics committee  Quebec's legislation contains a provision on those types of situations, specifically. It authorizes the commission to cease to examine a matter if the application is considered to be vexatious or frivolous, or made in bad faith. The act contains another provision to address what you mentioned.

Information & Ethics committee  Under Quebec's legislation, access to a document is free of charge for citizens. But, under the regulations, a public body may charge a fee for the reproduction of the document, after the first 20 pages or so. And, obviously, there is no charge to consult the document on site. The regulations provide for a few other considerations, but those are the only fees that may be charged in Quebec.

Information & Ethics committee  A number of criteria currently apply in terms of the government agencies subject to the access to documents act. With respect to an organization's funding, the act stipulates that bodies whose capital stock forms part of the public domain are subject to the act. As interpreted by the courts, that means a corporation whose shares are owned entirely by the government or a public body.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you for your question. The answer to your first question is no. Quebec currently has no legal duty to document. As for your second question, the answer is yes. Quebec agrees with the need for such an obligation. That's why we signed a joint statement to that effect, along with all of our counterparts.

Information & Ethics committee  I can give you details on the examples I mentioned regarding the exemptions in Quebec's legislation. Recommendations made by a cabinet committee or a member of the executive council are generally protected by a specific provision. The same is true of studies made within the executive council department, so cabinet, or the office of the secretary of the treasury board regarding a recommendation or request made by a minister, a cabinet committee or a public body.

Information & Ethics committee  Just a quick clarification. The problem we have in Quebec is different. Under the act, when an agency hasn't responded within the prescribed time frame, the assumption is that the organization is refusing to disclose. So the citizen immediately turns to us, and we treat the file as a refusal to grant access.

Information & Ethics committee  The act was amended in 2006 to build in that obligation for government departments and agencies. Since 2009, regulations have set out the documents that must be made available on the Internet. The government recently amended the regulations governing distribution, increasing the number of documents subject to proactive disclosure.

Information & Ethics committee  With the safeguards I mentioned already set out in the act, Quebec's experience has been rather positive. Since we have certain decisions pending before the courts, you'll appreciate that I can't say much more than that on the different interpretations of those provisions. Nevertheless, generally speaking, I would say that the current provisions strike a balance between the need for those organizations to be transparent and the need to ensure their decisions and deliberations are protected, under what is commonly known as parliamentary privilege.

Information & Ethics committee  Quebec's access to information legislation applies to the government, the National Assembly, the lieutenant-governor, the Conseil exécutif—or executive council—and the Conseil du trésor—or treasury board. They can, however, invoke restrictions to protect certain kinds of information, for instance, involving parliamentary privilege.

Information & Ethics committee  A number of considerations come into play. The commission would like more organizations brought under the access to documents act. Currently, certain organizations that are entirely, or mostly, publicly funded, as well as those carrying out functions comparable to public functions, are not subject to the act.