Access to Information Act  moved that Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be read the third time and passed. Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for this opportunity to speak on Bill C-58, which would amend Canada's Access to Information Act.

Access to Information Act  moved that Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be concurred in at report stage.

2016-17 Departmental Results  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 84 departments and agencies, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the departmental results reports for the 2016-17 fiscal year.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, I believe the hon. member obviously is interested in Bill C-58, our government's landmark legislation to modernize Canada's Access to Information Act. This is really important, because for 30 years governments have talked about modernizing access to information but have not done it.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, we are the first government in 34 years to act to modernize access to information. In fact, we are the first government to provide the Information Commissioner with real order-making power. We are applying the act, through proactive disclosure, to ministers' offices and the Prime Minister's office.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, we are the first government in more than 30 years to modernize the Access to Information Act. As I said in my first speech on Bill C-58, our intention is to raise the bar for openness and transparency. We are open to amendments for improving the bill and we look forward to working will all hon. members to improve this bill.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, in 2006, the Conservatives promised to reform the Access to Information Act. They did nothing for 10 years. Their government was the first in the Commonwealth to be found in contempt of Parliament. We will take no lessons from the most secretive government of all time.

Ethics  Mr. Speaker, we are the first government in 30 years to want to update the Access to Information Act, and we will work with the Information Commissioner to do so. In fact, let us be very clear. For the first time in history, our government is giving the commissioner order-making power.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, after more than 30 years, we are the first government to modernize the Access to Information Act, and we are applying it to ministers' offices through proactive disclosure. I understand why the NDP does not like proactive disclosure. When we were in opposition and the Prime Minister was the leader of the Liberals in opposition, he led the charge on proactive disclosure of MPs' expenses.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, we are proud to be the first government in more than 30 years to modernize the Access to Information Act. I want to be very clear on a specific issue the hon. member raised in regard to indigenous peoples. I will be very clear that we will support an amendment that would require departments to seek approval from the Information Commissioner before refusing a request.

Health  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Ottawa—Vanier for her question, but particularly for her leadership. Empowering women and respecting their rights, including their reproductive health rights, is what we do as a government. Women should have their choice of contraceptives, which is why my department has reached out to the public sector unions to make it clear that we agree that non-oral contraceptives should be covered under the public service health care plan.

Public Accounts of Canada  Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to table today, in both official languages, the Public Accounts of Canada 2017. The Auditor General of Canada has provided an unqualified audit opinion on the Government of Canada's financial statements. The government is committed to sound financial management, and to monitoring the use of public funds to enhance accountability and transparency.

Parliamentary Protective Service  Mr. Speaker, we are working to restore a culture of respect for the public service, and we will continue to do so throughout our public service, which includes the House of Commons protective service.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ottawa West—Nepean for her question. As we head into Canada's Right to Know Week, today, we are debating Bill C-58, the first major reform of the Access to Information Act in 30 years. Recently, our leadership was internationally recognized when I accepted the role of co-chair of the Open Government Partnership on behalf of Canada.

Access to Information Act  Mr. Speaker, I listened intently to my colleague's arguments. I want to start with the frivolous and vexatious issue. These are designed specifically for bad-faith requests. It is important to note that this recommendation actually came from House of Commons ETHI committee. Beyond that, eight provinces and three territorial governments have some variation of this, as does Australia, the U.K., and New Zealand.