Question has been called. All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

Committee, do you agree that this concludes consideration of Committee Report 16-18(3), Report on the Review of Bill 29, an Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act?

Thank you, committee. This concludes consideration of Committee Report 16-18(3). We have agreed to next consider Bill 29, An Act to Amend The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. There are copies of the bill in the grey binders next to everyone's seats. I will give committee a moment to get them ready. Committee, I will turn to the Minister responsible for Bill 29 to introduce it. Minister Sebert.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am here today to discuss Bill 29, An Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. I would like to thank the Standing Committee on Government Operations for their review of this bill and for the productive feedback that they have provided. A number of motions were made in committee, and I believe the bill has improved as a result of the work with standing committee.

Bill 29 amends the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act to improve public accountability, the protection of personal privacy, access to government information, and to ensure greater transparency and openness. The amendments include lowering fees and shortening timeframes for processing requests and arise from recommendations received during the comprehensive review of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act that was completed in 2017.

The amendments are a result of extensive consultation with public bodies, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, and the public. All feedback received during the course of these consultations, including the Information and Privacy Commissioner's submissions and recommendations previously identified by the Standing Committee on Government Operations, were carefully considered.

Specifically, the proposed amendments to the act include changes to:

• update and clarify provisions relating to purpose of the legislation;
• improve public access to information by responding to advances in technology and shortening timeframes for processing requests;
• provide greater clarity on existing exceptions and narrowing the focus of specific exceptions;
• acknowledge the operation of common or integrated services or programs across public bodies, and to provide greater clarity on disclosures supported by the act; and
• provide for greater oversight of activities carried out under the act, including new powers for the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

The bill will also make a number of non-substantive miscellaneous amendments to improve the clarity and readability of specific provisions of the act. I would be pleased to answer any questions that the Members may have regarding Bill 29. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Minister Sebert. I will now turn to the chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations, which is the committee that considered the bill, for any opening comments. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I think that I have spoken at length about the importance of this bill, and I will refer interested viewers back to those previous comments. It is great legislation, and the one thing that I will say is that the collaboration with the Minister's office was greatly appreciated. We have achieved consensus on every issue brought forward by committee, and it has greatly improved the bill and shown just how effective this legislature can be when it puts its mind to collaborating on legislation. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister, do you have witnesses who wish to bring into the Chamber?

Yes, Mr. Chair.

Sergeant-at-Arms, please escort the witness into the Chamber. Minister, would you please introduce your witnesses for the record.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. To my left is Denise Anderson, manager of GNWT Access, the Privacy Office, Department of Justice, and to my right is Kelly McLaughlin, legislative counsel, Legislation Division, Department of Justice. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister. That was Ms. Anderson and Ms. McLaughlin? Thank you very much. I will now open the floor to general comments on Bill 29. Is there anything that is unsaid? Mr. Testart.

Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee of the Whole take a short recess. Thank you.

Take a recess? All those in favour? All those opposed?

---Carried

We will take a brief recess.

---SHORT RECESS

I will call committee back to order. Does committee agree that there are no further comments on Bill 29?

Agreed. Can we proceed to the clause-by-clause review of the bill?

Okay. We will proceed in groups of five. Committee, we will defer Bill 29 and title until after consideration of the clauses. As said, we will do groups of five. Please turn to page 1 of the bill. Clauses 1 to 5?

---Clauses 1 through 16 inclusive approved

Clause 17?

Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. A motion has been made. The motion is being distributed. The motion is in order. To the motion. Mr. Testart.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have some written comments here, because this motion is quite complicated. Mr. Chair, clause 17 of Bill 29 proposes to add a provision requiring that, where someone makes an access-to-information request, the head of a public body must refuse to disclose labour relations information that could reveal information supplied to or the report of an arbitrator, mediator, labour relations officer, or other person dealing with a labour relations matter. The committee was concerned that the provision, as written in the bill, did not provide clear enough direction on what constitutes "labour relations information." The committee was also concerned that the provision in the bill was too broad and could potentially exempt from disclosure a significant amount of information that would otherwise be available to an applicant. As such, the committee sought to narrow this provision so as to limit the exemption to a much narrower category of information.

Both the Department of Justice's legislative drafters and the committee's law clerk proposed motions to address this concern. The motion before us today is the result of a compromise reached on these earlier drafts. It specifies, as did the original clause in the bill, that the head of a public body shall refuse to disclose labour relations information that could reveal information supplied to or the report of an arbitrator, mediator, labour relations officer, or other person dealing with a labour relations matter, but it further specifies that this includes information or records prepared by the public body in contemplation of litigation, arbitration, or a settlement offer. It also specifies that this further includes labour relations information that was developed in confidence by the public body, as an employer, and has been treated consistently as confidential information.

Another notable feature of this motion is that, to be protected from disclosure, labour relations information must also meet the following test: that it could harm the competitive position of the public body as an employer; that it could interfere with the negotiating position of a public body as an employer; or that it could result in significant financial loss or gain to the public body as an employer.

Finally, Mr. Chair, the motion adds a subsection to the provision which provides that, notwithstanding the protections set out above, an applicant who is party to a labour relations matter must have access to any relevant information that the party would otherwise be entitled to receive with respect to the matter at hand.

The committee believes that this revised motion provides enough direction to strike an appropriate balance between privacy and access to labour relations information, such that highly confidential and personal labour relations-related information is only disclosed to parties with a direct interest in a labour relations matter, while ensuring that broader types of labour relations information must only be withheld by public bodies where there is a risk of harm.

The committee, again, thanks the Minister and his Cabinet colleagues for their support in amending Bill 29. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Testart. Minister Sebert.