Mr. Chairman, the Department of Justice tabled the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act earlier this session. It was modelled on legislation recently passed or introduced in other Canadian jurisdictions. The department followed most of the recommendations made by the Standing Committee on Legislation, which undertook an extensive review and consultation process and tabled a most useful report on March 16, 1993.

The standing committee has reviewed the draft bill prepared by the department and has reported on their findings. A number of changes were recommended by the committee to which I, as the Minister of Justice, have expressed approval.

To briefly summarize the legislation, it covers both access to information and protection of privacy and contains five basic components.

- the right of access given to any person to the records in the custody and control of the government, subject only to limited and specific exceptions;

- the manner in which the government may collect personal information from and about individuals is controlled; the use that the government may make of that information is controlled; and the disclosure of that information by government is controlled;

- individuals, subject to specific exceptions, have the right to obtain access to information about themselves held by the government;

- individuals have the right to request corrections to information about themselves held by government; and,

- decisions made by the government under the legislation will be reviewed by an independent Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Commissioner.

In the case of requests for information or correction of personal information, the request would be made by the individual directly to the department which has custody of the records in question. The department reviews the request and responds to the request within the set time frame by:

- responding as requested;

- referring the request to another department which has custody of the record;

- advising that an extension is required because of the character of the request;

- indicating that certain costs will be incurred because of the scope of the request;

- advising that all or part of the information requested will not be provided because it falls within an exception under the act;

- providing all the information requested; or,

- providing part of the information requested with the excepted parts severed from the records.

The individual, if dissatisfied with the response of the department, may file a complaint with the Access to Information and Privacy Commissioner, who may review and report on the matter. Where the Commissioner disagrees with the department and recommends corrective action, the department must take the recommendation into account. If the department rejects the recommendation, the department must advise the Commissioner and all parties of the decision.

The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Commissioner does not have the power to overrule the department. The government has operated on the assumption that if the office of the Commissioner is created, the duties of the Commissioner could be expanded to include the duties of a territorial ombudsman at minimal extra cost. The ombudsman traditionally has the power to make recommendations to government, but not to order compliance.

It should also be noted that the Commissioner reports to the Legislative Assembly and if departments choose to reject the recommendations of the Commissioner, the Minister would be accountable to the Assembly. There is always, of course, a recourse to the courts if the Minister makes a decision which is unlawful.

The act, like counterparts in other jurisdictions, would provide for judicial review of certain decisions made under the act.

The exceptions that define when information may not be released are similar to those described in other legislation in Canada. These exceptions include information which is sensitive because it describes or concerns the interests of third parties. People sometimes overlook that this kind of legislation is designed not only to give individuals access to government records, but also to ensure that, in some cases, access to records is not given because it would interfere with the rights of third parties.

The most important of these third-party exceptions relate to personal information about a person and sensitive business and commercial information. The release of this information could cause harm and all access to information and protection of privacy legislation provides protection against this.

The act does not apply to the office of the Legislative Assembly or the office of a Member of the Legislative Assembly, or a Member of the Executive Council, and a department must not release information which would reveal a confidence of the Executive Council, including advice and recommendations to the Executive Council and agendas and minutes of meetings of the Executive Council. This is standard in all jurisdictions, but the scope of the exemption may vary across jurisdictions.

For the time being, the act will only apply to records in the custody of the Government of the Northwest Territories, and will not extend to municipal governments. This is consistent with the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Legislation. It will be important to build up the experience in the government before contemplating an extension to municipal governments.

The act would not come into effect for two years after passage, in order to give the time for the government and individual departments to prepare for implementation, and especially to prepare the directory of information that is maintained by the government.

The Standing Committee on Legislation recommended that a system of community assistance be a factor of the access to information system in the NWT, and the government provided for this in the estimate of costs which was tabled with this bill. The government is recommending a system whereby individuals in the community would be paid on a fee-for-service basis. This will ensure that people at the community level will be able to use the system.

Mr. Chairman, I would be pleased to answer any questions with the assistance of my staff, if you agree. Thank you.

Yes, Mr. Chairman. Shall we move to the table?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. On my left is the deputy minister of Justice, Don Avison. On my right is Mark Aitken from the legislation division, and the director of policy of the Department of Justice, Mr. Gerald Sutton.

Yes.