Industry committee  I'll ask my colleague Ms. Angus to provide a bit more detail on that point.

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. I certainly am prepared to acknowledge that there are multiple perspectives and viewpoints that could be taken on this point. However, I think an informed reading of the proposed bill that's been put before this committee for consideration would make it very clear that there are no impacts on the partnership or joint investigation work.

Industry committee  May I add just one further point on that, if that's okay?

Industry committee  I just want to point out a specific section of the act, in case it's helpful regarding your question. That's proposed subsection 119(2), which allows the OPC to enter into agreements with the provinces.

Industry committee  Thanks very much for the question. The tribunal as proposed would have between three and six members in total. At least three of those members must have experience in the field of information and privacy law. They would be appointed by the GIC and also have the remuneration fixed by the GIC.

Industry committee  Thank you very much for the question. The way the CPPA is structured now, a tribunal's finding would be considered firm and final and could not be appealed to a court. It would only be subject to a judicial review, which, as we discussed last meeting, is a much different standard, and could only be reviewed on the basis of essentially the tribunal acting in a manner that was outside of its mandate.

Industry committee  Thanks again for the question. As we have discussed over the last couple of meetings, there would be no impact on the investigatory functions of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as a result of having a tribunal available. The tribunal would have two main functions, as we discussed recently.

Industry committee  Thanks very much. I think, as we discussed last week at this committee, it's important to recognize that when we do analysis on these kinds of issues, we do it in full view of the totality of the systems we're looking at. It's not just about picking out any one specific element and saying, “That's the same over there.

Industry committee  Thanks very much. I wanted to point out that I think it would also result in the creation of, as Mr. Schaan pointed out, two tracks, but also the possibility of scenarios in which the Privacy Commissioner's views or interpretation of the act would be different from what a court might find in a similar circumstance.

Industry committee  Therefore, when we're talking about degrees of expertise, I think it's important that we be really clear about where the expertise lies—

Industry committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. I was simply trying to make the point that it's important that we think about domains of expertise very specifically. We are talking about a specific question. Make sure the voices we're talking about in that question are actually avowed experts in the area they're talking about.

Industry committee  I think we've been really clear in explaining our rationale for why we think it would be more efficient in this model. I think we've also been really clear to note that in some cases the provincial commissioners don't have the power to issue administrative monetary penalties. The previous commissioner was reacting a number of years ago to a different bill and a different approach.

Industry committee  I think that's a fair statement.

Industry committee  Again, I think that's a fair statement, but I would rather not engage on it in the generics. When we think about the different powers that each of those commissioners has and the different systems in which they function.... For example, they don't all have the ability to impose administrative monetary penalties.

Industry committee  Once again, thank you. We don't draw a distinction between the expertise of the Commissioner's office and that of the tribunals. In fact, the newly created tribunal would respect the Commissioner's expertise by virtue of the fact that it would have to attach considerable importance to the Commissioner's decisions.