Information & Ethics committee  I didn't get the question, sorry.

Information & Ethics committee  I'll choose no.

Information & Ethics committee  I would add that these aspects should be considered as part of the entire access to information process. Regardless of what you might change in the act, if it is difficult to find documents, you could not impose short time frames. That is something to consider.

Information & Ethics committee  The answer to your question depends on what the next step would be after the public agency's response. Ministerial responsibility does, after all, rest with the minister. It is the minister who is accountable for their department's actions. Unless an access to information system is adopted that is parallel to government activities, as we have just discussed, the responsibility lies with the minister.

Information & Ethics committee  Returning to Mr. Weiler's comments, I would say that perhaps the issue here is one of transparency. When it is the minister who decides not to disclose a document, that should perhaps be indicated. As a matter of ministerial responsibility, if it is the minister who decides not to disclose a document, the response should indicate that.

Information & Ethics committee  There are two models. Actually, there are more than two, but let's stick with these two. The first model has a firm deadline: either the organization responds within 30 days or it is deemed to have refused to comply. The requester may then take the matter to court for a review of why the documents were not released.

Information & Ethics committee  It's going to be quick. We have nothing to add.

Information & Ethics committee  Actually, that is the mechanism in Quebec, although the timelines are different. When the access to information commission orders a public organization to disclose information, it must comply or appeal to the Court of Quebec. The access to information commission's decision can then be reviewed.

Information & Ethics committee  Yes, thank you, Mr. Boulerice. I have already commented on the fees that should be abolished. Moreover, I agree with what Mr. Weiler just said. Sending an email should suffice rather than creating a new procedure to contact the government. People are already familiar with this method.

Information & Ethics committee  We didn't discuss the $5 fee for access-to-information requests, but I find that asking for fees for an access-to-information request is a bit of a contradiction of the spirit of the act. What this means, and what I'm referring to, is that people make huge access-to-information requests so that they only pay $5 once instead of three times.

Information & Ethics committee  Our vision for order powers lies in the determination of requests for review on access to information. I'll remind you that the process in Quebec provides 30 days to respond to an access-to-information request. Within 30 days, the access-to-information requester can ask for a review of the file, or a third party may request a review of the public body's decision to disclose its documents.

Information & Ethics committee  I'd like to add something. I think the use of government discretion often involves financial investments or financial matters. The Access to Information Act is important if you fall under the exercise of this government discretion. If the commissioner recommends an exemption—I don't have the wording with me, so I can't comment in detail—I think there's this principle on one side.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you for the question. First, the act already partly imposes something on injury tests in the provisions of section 20. It's also taken into account in provincial legislation in Quebec, in the provisions on protecting the interests of third parties. That said, I'm not sure that it responds to all the concerns that third parties might have when it comes to access to their documents.

Information & Ethics committee  The last issue, which is in fact closest to my reality as a practitioner, has to do with the administrative framework of the applicability of the act. As I said in the beginning, we have experience both federally and in Quebec. You've already heard from Diane Poitras, the vice-president of the Commission d'accès à l'information.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning to committee members and especially to the vice-chair, Joël Lightbound, our former colleague. First I'd like to introduce ourselves. I am an associate with the law firm Fasken Martineau. In the Montreal office, we both work in access to information and privacy protection, with respect to both federal legislation and Quebec provincial legislation.