Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, I think those are very important values.

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, the Privacy Commissioner is a person with over 30 years' experience in legal and privacy matters. He comes from a field of highly qualified candidates, and he was the best candidate. It will be interesting to see, as question period progresses, whether NDP members will repeat what they did yesterday when they had one round of questions decrying the selection of the Privacy Commissioner and another round of questions asking why we did not listen to the Privacy Commissioner.

Government Appointments  Mr. Speaker, again, Mr. Therrien is the best candidate for this position. Yesterday, the NDP said that the Privacy Commissioner is not the best candidate, and then they turned around and said that we have to listen to the commissioner. That is a hypocritical position.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, I can say that this government has been responsible for processing over 50% of all access to information requests submitted since the law was enacted in 1983. Every year since we have been in power, the number of access to information requests has gone up. We are acting.

Access to Information  Mr. Speaker, as I already said, of the total number of access to information requests that have been replied to since 1983, 50% of them have been replied to by this government. We have replied to more access to information requests than the Trudeau, Mulroney, Turner, Campbell, Chrétien, and Martin governments combined.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, allow me the opportunity to repeat that this individual has over 30 years of experience on legal matters, as well as privacy matters, as a public servant, a person who has served our country. Indeed, that is why there is not just a privacy commissioner; there is a privacy commission.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, I say no such thing. What I have said repeatedly is that we have a nominee who is well versed on legal matters and privacy matters. He has over 30 years of experience working for the Canadian public. He is an exceptional candidate. That is why I was proud to recommend him to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister to this Parliament.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, the NDP is sensing a political opportunity in this case. That is what the New Democrats do. They attack individuals who have had 30 years experience serving the public sector. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is mistaken on several fronts. The candidate appeared before committee today, as we all wanted him to do. I think he defended himself extremely well. He is clearly the best candidate for the position. There was a rigorous process in the search for a successor to the previous privacy commissioner.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, as I already said, Mr. Therrien is a qualified candidate who has a significant amount of experience in law and with respect to the confidentiality required in this position. The appointment was made pursuant to a rigorous process, which identified Mr. Therrien as a highly qualified candidate—the best candidate for this position.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, on the contrary, Mr. Therrien is an individual who has had 30 years' experience serving the public, in the public sector. He has legal experience. He has experience on the privacy files. This appointment was made pursuant to a very rigorous process where a number of highly qualified individuals were identified, and we have found the person who is the most qualified to actually have this position.

Privacy  Mr. Speaker, according to the Leader of the Opposition, actually having experience on legal matters and on privacy matters disqualifies someone for a post. Actually having 30 years of experience serving the public disqualifies that person for the post. That is what the Leader of the Opposition is selling.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, in processing parliamentary returns, the government applies the Privacy Act and the principles set out in the Access to Information Act, and information has been withheld on the grounds that it is a confidence of cabinet.

Government Advertising  Mr. Speaker, of course, it is the responsibility of any government in Canada to communicate with the public on the excellent programs that will help citizens in their daily lives, and we are no exception to that. Of course, when we spend money on advertising, it actually goes to advertising, unlike the former Liberals.

Questions on the Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, between December 13, 2011, and March 2014, fewer than five individuals working as ministers’ exempt staff were terminated for misconduct or incompetence. Providing the amounts requested in (b) and (c) would result in a disclosure of personal information not authorized under the Privacy Act.