Information & Ethics committee  It applies to all records in the custody of or under the control of a public body, but does not apply to a record in a court file, a record of a judge of the Court of Appeal, trial division or provincial court, a judicial administration record or a record relating to support services provided to judges of the courts.

Information & Ethics committee  The commissioner can review all cabinet documents without exception to determine whether or not they fall within the limited exceptions.

Information & Ethics committee  Debates are not documented, at least they were not for the cabinet I was familiar with. There was no document showing that minister so-and-so said this or minister somebody else said the opposite.

Information & Ethics committee  I don't know whether they are at the federal level. I've never been in a federal cabinet, but I've been in a couple of provincial cabinets, and those were never recorded. The decisions and conclusions are recorded.

Information & Ethics committee  There's nothing in our legislation that deals with quantum of funding that a person or a corporation or an association might receive from government. The determining standard is whether or not the government effectively controls it. That's the standard: by share ownership, or by establishment under a statute, or by appointment of the majority of the board of directors.

Information & Ethics committee  I would have to take a look at the act. I've been away from it for nearly two years now.

Information & Ethics committee  Mr. Letto.

Information & Ethics committee  We didn't organize this with an index, did we?

Information & Ethics committee  We added eight additional categories to what was already there.

Information & Ethics committee  I've lost count, but I think there have been five, at least.

Information & Ethics committee  I did lose count.

Information & Ethics committee  There was a time when there was no access to information. I think Newfoundland was the second jurisdiction to implement a freedom of information act, Nova Scotia being the first, and then I think the federal one was implemented. I believe Newfoundland's was in 1982 and Nova Scotia's in 1978, something along those lines.

Information & Ethics committee  The matter that is a public issue right now in Newfoundland was probably the driving force. All this came about at a time when the government was involved in promoting a major Newfoundland government public undertaking in the development of Muskrat Falls, a $7-billion project. A $7-billion obligation on the backs of a mere 525,000 people is a pretty heavy burden to carry, so people were naturally concerned, but government was struggling ahead.

Information & Ethics committee  It could be applied nationally as well.

Information & Ethics committee  It was a pure ombudsman model. The commissioner made his recommendation and the public servant could ignore it. If the public servant wouldn't comply with it, the requester had the obligation to then go to court, create money, engage a lawyer, and so on. This was a tremendous deterrent.