Information & Ethics committee  Mr. Chair, members of the committee, I am honoured to appear before you today and I feel very privileged to have my application for Canada's Information Commissioner considered. I am particularly honoured to be nominated, given the importance to Canadians of the role of the Info

Information & Ethics committee  I am not sure I do manage, but I try.

Information & Ethics committee  In the field of access to information, even with legislation that has promoted the right to access for 34 years, there is still fear, or reluctance, surrounding the idea that people should know everything that is happening in an organization. Sometimes, even managers hold informa

Information & Ethics committee  One of my priorities is to give meaning to the expression “open government”. That has to become more than just a slogan; people in organizations have to believe in the power of sharing information. It is clear to me that it will take time. After all, the Access to Information Act

Information & Ethics committee  The goal is not to make people uncomfortable or to cause difficulty for organizations. In my opinion, the point is rather to make sure that people can be aware of the results of investigations and can know whether the commissioner's office, in certain situations, considers the de

Information & Ethics committee  Absolutely. One of my priorities is to see how the commissioner's office works. We have a backlog of 3,000 complaints, as I understand it, according to the information available. The number of complaints increases each year. So there has to be room for technology in the investi

Information & Ethics committee  The journey started in November. I was invited to attend mandatory training for new GIC appointees. As acting chair, I decided to go, because I thought it would be a good thing for me to tell the new chair, him or her, what this training was all about. At the training, I met pe

Information & Ethics committee  I definitely read with interest all the reports and a lot of information that is available on the website. I don't think it would be appropriate for me to compare and contrast myself with Madame Legault's opinion. I can tell you, from my own perspective, that when I read the new

Information & Ethics committee  As an agent of Parliament, I find I have to be careful with use of the word “advocate”. I like to use the word “promotion”, upholding rights and making sure that the statute is respected. I will definitely not take the role of legislator. I will bring you all information that is

Information & Ethics committee  I do believe that I have the tools, or that I would have the tools, using the Access to Information Act, to make sure that the access rights are respected, and to make sure that the limitation and exclusions that are provided under the act are not abused. I don't see my role as

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, I do believe that the new authority to issue orders, and within 30 days of the institution receiving that order, it's going to be public and published.... I will have no hesitation to use that tool to increase accessibility and accountability. The other thing we have to rem

Information & Ethics committee  Personally, I have no problem making a decision to issue an order—I wouldn't threaten for five years—on taking somebody.... Actually under the new act it wouldn't be the commission that would have to go to the Federal Court, but it would have to be following an order of publicati

Information & Ethics committee  I know it's at second reading in the Senate. I don't know how long it's going to be there until it's enacted. I hope, if I am invited, and I have time to better understand all the issues, I'll be able to present myself. One of the concerns I have is that this authority to issue a

Information & Ethics committee  As I said earlier, it is a concern when you have an amendment that could further limit or delay an access request. I'm happy to see that section 6 has been amended to add the institution cannot refuse to act on a request without the commission's authority or approval. That's a go

Information & Ethics committee  As a committee right now, we have a de novo review power and the decisions that the city renders are being reviewed on a judicial review standard. I have experience with both. When the decision is rendered and it's justified reasonable and very well detailed, it's really hard to