Information & Ethics committee  Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and honourable members of the committee. Thank you for inviting the Privy Council Office to appear before you today to discuss Canada's access to information and privacy system. I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathered on traditional

Information & Ethics committee  There are approximately 1,200 employees at PCO, and they're all subject to the act.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good afternoon, members of the committee. Thank you for inviting the Privy Council Office to return to provide you with further information and respond to your questions about the government's response to the motion for the production of documents concerni

Government Operations committee  PCO did not direct any department nor its own employees to defy the will of the committee. However, PCO has used the same long-standing approach to the redaction of its own documents and would give the same advice to others. There are long-standing principles used by successive

Government Operations committee  I have not seen the email. I do not believe it has been provided to us. My understanding is that there was an email that was referred to, if it is the one I'm thinking of, that was between Paul MacKinnon and Maia Welbourne. Is that the email you're referring to?

Government Operations committee  Maia Welbourne left PCO in advance of when this particular parliamentary motion took place. While I have not seen the email, I can say with confidence that it would not relate to this particular motion, as she was not a PCO employee at the time.

Government Operations committee  I can confirm the exact date, but I believe she left at the end of the last calendar year.

Government Operations committee  It is not possible.

Government Operations committee  I have not seen the reference that you mentioned. I heard that there was an email referred to. All I can say is that we have looked, and we are confident that Ms. Welbourne did not work at PCO at the time. We would happily provide any email, if we could find it, that was related

Government Operations committee  I can confirm, and I have already confirmed that she left in December 2022.

Government Operations committee  I believe what you're referring to is that, at the last committee, I quoted from “Open and Accountable Government”. I'm happy to read that passage again if you would like me to. Ultimately, what I indicated was that it was from 2011 and was approved by the Prime Minister at the t

Government Operations committee  We respectfully understand the position of the law clerk and what has been explained to this committee, and our approach to the production of documents is sensitive to the powers of the House of Commons and its committees to request production of documents and the role of members

Government Operations committee  I reflected in the last appearance...and when I read “Open and Accountable Government”, the very end of it talks about the importance of “Members of Parliament, in cooperation with Ministers and their offices, to find ways to respond to legitimate requests for information from Me

Government Operations committee  I can't speak to the work with this committee, as it's a different part of the Privy Council Office. I was called a couple of weeks ago, and I've come today. I can speak to other examples where we have sought to provide information. As recently as February 13, 2023, the Standing

Government Operations committee  I apologize. I do not know which minister led it. However, it would have been the Prime Minister who approved it. It would normally be the Privy Council Office that worked with the Prime Minister's Office to draft it, and it would, ultimately, have been approved by the Prime Mini