Information & Ethics committee  If it helps the committee, could I give you some suggestions as to what to do about these problems?

Information & Ethics committee  I'd be more than willing to do that.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. These tracking systems create a chilling and deterrent effect. They're not productive, unless you're an insider who is more intent on hiding, delaying, or manipulating data, or gagging your own officials. They add costs. They create administrative layers and fear inside the system.

Information & Ethics committee  There's a narrow and a broader way of interpreting the spirit of the act, just as there is a narrow and a broader way of interpreting what colours what. My points will be that the names are one thing, but once they're in the system, or there are tracking systems or profiling, it's all part of the same thing.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members. The work of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics has been one of the few positive changes under Canada's first-generation access legislation. Your committee's efforts have been in contrast to official Ottawa's constant war to deflate the importance of information rights.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  If certain members would like to constructively discuss amendments, I'm sure I or Mr. McKie or a lot of other people would like to join in. The sooner they're out, the better, because transparency's kind of important now.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Well, I'm witnessing from the Prime Minister down a situation where you're focusing on a particular situation, but there's a broader problem, and that's with the gagging of parliamentary officers. You're saying these officers, like the Information Commissioner, shouldn't have certain review powers and shouldn't disclose certain information.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Of course it shouldn't.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I guess I'm enough of a democrat to believe that dollar-a-year men with influence, or a small group of lobbyists, aren't the kind of interaction with the Canadian public that is healthy or the only type that's warranted. When you have an act like this act that endorses rather than really restricts their ability to have a priority say in government, I don't think it helps anybody.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  That's right, yes. I wouldn't mind also very briefly commenting on the Public Appointments Commission, because it's a lightning rod for what's wrong with this bill, and what I guess your amendment is trying to do—and I hope there are a lot of other amendments—to make this constructive.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I was just going to say, documents speak for themselves. So when you get a document from the Privy Council Office that's comparing the Gomery commission's final report to the Federal Accountability Act, and then you get PCO's assessment and the whole darn thing gets exempt, that's what we're up against.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Well, as one of the people who used the access act conservatively during the sponsorship scandal and got the auditors' notes, got the lists of all the different sponsorship things, first of all I had a great deal of trouble convincing the media that there was a scandal there. But no, it's going to make matters a lot worse.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  It's fairly publicly known that I do not support all of Mr. Reid's suggestions. I believe in a public right to know act rather than simply an open government act. I don't think a public interest override act, having used it in the provinces, will achieve much. That is why--and I know Dave McKie will agree with me--proactive disclosure of environmental safety and health and consumer reports is what's really needed, a real disclosure that gets prior consent from parties, that negotiates between federal and provincial people and says we all want disclosure internationally.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  Yes. It would be in the purpose section. And having argued in court—I'm not a lawyer—where the public right to know is considered a quasi-constitutional matter, it's much better to go beyond statutory interpretation and enshrine it right in an act, because it gives the act a lot more clout with individuals who see clearly it's a right, and with the courts who have to interpret the act.

Bill C-2 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) committee  I don't look upon the transparency section of this act as totally separate. Yes, it's clear it has gone toward greater secrecy and protection, but look at all the different sections, from part 1 to part 4, the whistle-blowing disclosure, contract disclosure.... I should put it the other way: it's usually exempting this stuff.