Proceedings of the Standing Senate Committee on
Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Issue No. 58 - Minutes of Proceedings - April 4, 2019
OTTAWA, Thursday, April 4, 2019
(136)
[English]
The Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs met this day at 10:36 a.m., in room W120, 1 Wellington St., the chair, the Honourable Serge Joyal, P.C., presiding.
Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Batters, Boisvenu, Carignan, P.C., Dalphond, Dupuis, Gold, Joyal, P.C., McCoy, McIntyre, Pratte and Ringuette (11).
In attendance: Julian Walker and Maxime Charron-Tousignant, Analysts, Parliamentary Information and Research Services, Library of Parliament; Marc-André Roy, Assistant Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel.
Also present: The official stenographers of the Senate.
Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, the committee continued its examination of Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. (For complete text of the order of reference, see proceedings of the committee, Issue No. 49.)
WITNESSES:
Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada:
Jacqueline Strandberg, Counsel, Legal Services.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat:
Ruth Naylor, Executive Director, Information and Privacy Policy Division.
Privy Council Office:
Mary Rassi, Democratic Institutions.
Department of Justice Canada:
Sarah Geh, Director and General Counsel.
The chair made a statement.
The committee resumed clause-by-clause consideration of Bill C-58, An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.
The officials were called to the table from time to time to answer questions for the remainder of the meeting.
The committee resumed debate on the motion in amendment from the Honourable Senator Dalphond:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 36, on page 25,
(a) by replacing line 9 with the following:
"71.12 (1) Sections 71.02 to 71.11 do not apply to any of the''; and
(b) by adding the following after line 14:
"(2) No determination by the Speaker of the Senate or their delegate under subsection (1) may be made before the Speaker or their delegate receives the advice of the appropriate authority that the Senate, by its rules or orders, designates.''.
With leave, the motion in amendment was withdrawn.
The chair asked whether clause 36 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Ringuette moved:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 36, page 25 by replacing line 13 with the following:
"the publication may constitute a breach of parliament-''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Ringuette moved:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 36, on page 25 by replacing lines 30 to 32 with the following:
"Speaker that a publication may constitute a breach of parliamentary privilege or could compromise the security of persons, infrastructure or goods is final for the purposes of this Part.''
After debate, the Honourable Senator Pratte moved that the motion in amendment be further amended by adding after the word "Part'' the following:
"subject to the rules and orders of both Houses of Parliament.''.
After debate, the question being put on the subamendment, it was adopted.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, as amended, it was adopted.
The Honourable Senator Ringuette moved:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 36, on page 25 by replacing line 28 in the French version with the following:
"de la Chambre des communes — ou celle de son délégué — portant que la publication''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was adopted.
It was agreed that clause 36 as amended, carry, on division.
The chair asked whether clause 37 shall carry.
The Honourable Senator Carignan, P.C., moved:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 37, on page 26, by adding the following after line 24:
"(b.1) within 30 days after the end of the month in which a decision made by a minister is communicated to the public, the briefing materials or portions thereof relied upon for that decision when the information contained in those portions is otherwise available to the public;''.
After debate, the question being put on the motion in amendment, it was defeated on a tie vote, by a show of hands (Y-5, N-5, A-nil).
The Honourable Senator McIntyre moved:
That Bill C-58 be amended in clause 37, on page 26, by adding the following after line 37:
"74.1 Within 30 days after the end of the month in which a minister, any of his or her ministerial advisers or any member of his or her ministerial staff attends a meeting in the office of the minister and a person who is neither a public servant nor a public office holder — as those terms are defined in subsection 2(1) of the Conflict of Interest Act — also attends the meeting, the minister shall cause to be published in electronic form the following information:
(a) the names of all persons who attended the meeting;
(b) the date of the meeting; and
(c) the subject of the meeting.''.
After debate, it was agreed to resume consideration of the motion in amendment at the next meeting.
At 12:33 p.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.
ATTEST:
Shaila Anwar
Clerk of the Committee