Information & Ethics committee  That's very difficult to summarize generally, because there are multiple institutions and it's changing year to year. For example, soon after the Federal Accountability Act was passed, the Canadian government extended the law to 15 more public federal institutions, and there w

Information & Ethics committee  The more the scandalous behaviour happens, whether it's dishonesty, unethical behaviour, secretive behaviour or waste, the more it becomes routine and the less it becomes news and the more accepted it becomes, as Mr. Cutler was highlighting. That leads to decline. That's why we n

Information & Ethics committee  The provincial laws are generally based on the federal law, which happens a lot in Canada if the feds pass a law. The same thing has happened with the lobbying law and with some of the ethics rules. The provinces essentially copy it. We see the same loopholes across the country

Information & Ethics committee  Government secrecy is a recipe for corruption, waste, abuse of the public, and decisions that protect private interests and violate the public interest. “Sunlight is a good disinfectant”, as a wise U.S. Supreme Court justice said about a century ago. The secrecy that is allowed

Information & Ethics committee  Well, the exclusions and the loopholes define the rights to access, and so you're right. The Access to Information Act is actually more loophole than it is rules in providing access. The purpose in subsection 2(b) “is to enhance the accountability and transparency of federal inst

Information & Ethics committee  I could say the same thing about any of the exemptions. They're all, unfortunately, too broad. They all need to be narrowed. Section 20 is one of the most regularly abused. That's our general recommendation. There can be a specific discussion about how to narrow any particular ex

Information & Ethics committee  I assume you're asking me again.

Information & Ethics committee  Please forgive me, I should have practised my French more, but I have to answer you in English. Yes, there is a culture of secrecy. The act is called the Access to Information Act, but it really should be called the “guide to keeping information from the public that they have a

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, and like all exceptions, it's too broad. There cannot be exclusions at all. There has to be a proof of harm if disclosure happens, and also a public interest override, with the commissioner able to examine all documents. In the whole area of contracts, the area of commercia

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. Bill C-58 ignored this committee's unanimous June 2016 report. It ignored all the other stakeholders. The information commissioners have documented in their annual reports very clearly that things are worse than they have been in the past. I challenge you, as committee me

Information & Ethics committee  This claim has often been made, but I think it's that you're unable to speak truth to power and have frank discussions when you're doing it in secret, because then the government can always deny what has been recommended from the public service and there's no record of it, so the

Information & Ethics committee  Yes. In terms of submissions, I have made a submission to the committee regarding the 18 recommendations. You will be receiving it once it's translated. To pick up on one that Michel Drapeau spoke about on Monday, his suggestion was to have a right to go to court after one year

Information & Ethics committee  It's simply better to refer to the Information Commissioner's report. Every year the list of which institutions are the worst changes. The overall record for meeting the 30-day deadline, which is the legal requirement, is very bad, so the violations are rampant across the board a

Information & Ethics committee  Bill C-58 was a step backwards in some ways. It certainly didn't keep the 2015 promises of the Liberals to make government information “open by default”, which is a direct quote from the Liberals' 2015 platform. The commissioner now has power to make orders, but it's not strong e

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, we're even further behind. We're ranked about 60th in whistle-blower protection, so compared to the rest of the world, we're even worse than we are in access to information.