Information & Ethics committee  —I can compare the two documents and I can tell you.... Complainants really like that, because we are an independent review body, so we can tell them on the phone, “This is a legal opinion, and you're not going to get it” or “Yes, this is something we will have to push a little bit more.”

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for inviting me to address you once again. Last May, when I appeared before this committee, I painted a rather bleak picture of the state of access to information in 2022. I was pleased that at the conclusion of my appearance, this committee voted to undertake a study of the access to information and privacy system.

Information & Ethics committee  Under the current act, with the amendments made in 2019, there are two legislative reviews that are mandatory: one by Parliament and one by Treasury Board, the government. The first one was supposed to start a year after the act was approved, and then after that they would be every five years.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much and have a good day.

Information & Ethics committee  I have to say that I have only intended to order the release or the treatment of a file twice so far. I've never had to go that far. People know that we have the authority. Just knowing that we can do it is a big advantage in our dealing with the institution. The other authority we have now that is a tremendous advantage and that has had a huge positive impact is the publication of our reports.

Information & Ethics committee  Bar one, the main complaint is about delays, extensions, unreasonable extensions taken by institutions to respond to an access request, or people not receiving any response at all, as we were talking about earlier. I think last year we had 3,000 cases of complaints about extensions or delays.

Information & Ethics committee  I think you're referring to the recommendations from Commissioner Bélanger. The lobbyist commissioner is going to be coming to you after me.

Information & Ethics committee  One of the things in the act is that when I issue a final report, I have to wait 35 days before I can publish a report. It gives the institution some time to digest the report before it's public and is published on my website. That's something I also recommended that we remove in the next review of the legislation, because I think Canadians—the public and the institutions—should be able to see our recommendations or orders right away.

Information & Ethics committee  Thank you very much.

Information & Ethics committee  We've actually issued a report on an institution, Canadian Heritage, that had completely stopped its activities last summer after the pandemic, and we did our investigation right away. Luckily, it resulted in it reopening. We are keeping an eye on all the institutions to make sure they are respecting their obligations.

Information & Ethics committee  As of 2019, I have the authority to refuse to investigate and to stop an investigation if I believe the complaint is frivolous or unreasonable or if it was made in bad faith. I must admit that I have not done so yet, because it is very difficult to determine at the outset. You have to investigate a little to see what the person wants and whether there is a link with what was received.

Information & Ethics committee  I can't comment on that, but I can tell you that in terms of access to information, we certainly have found shortcomings in the information that has been provided to people who are applying for immigration or refugee status. We are trying to work with the department to find easier ways for these people to access their personal information without having to go through the access to information system.

Information & Ethics committee  In government, as I said earlier, it takes people, ministers and leaders who believe in the importance of transparency, even with respect to information management. It takes people who take risks and give information voluntarily. Better information management would also be helpful.

Information & Ethics committee  I read the article too, Ms. Gaudreau. I have not seen any complaints about that, but I would not be surprised if that was the case elsewhere. It is not always easy to find bilingual people, people who speak French in the federal government. Especially when it comes to finding people from a particular region, as we said earlier.

Information & Ethics committee  You're welcome.