An Act to amend the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts (S.C. 2019, c. 18)
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Assented to 2019-06-21
R.S., c. A-1Access to Information Act (continued)
Amendments to the Act (continued)
26 Subsection 52(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Applications relating to international affairs or defence
52 (1) An application under section 41 relating to a record or a part of a record that the head of a government institution has refused to disclose by reason of paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b) or section 15 shall be heard and determined by the Chief Justice of the Federal Court or by any other judge of that Court that the Chief Justice may designate to hear those applications.
27 Subsection 53(2) of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Costs — important new principle
(2) If the Court is of the opinion that an application for review under section 41 has raised an important new principle in relation to this Part, the Court shall order that costs be awarded to the applicant even if the applicant has not been successful in the result.
28 Subsection 57(1) of the English version of the Act is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Duties generally
57 (1) An Assistant Information Commissioner shall engage exclusively in such duties or functions of the office of the Information Commissioner under this Part or under any other Act of Parliament as are delegated by the Information Commissioner to that Assistant Information Commissioner and shall not hold any other office under Her Majesty for reward or engage in any other employment for reward.
29 Paragraph 59(1)(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(b) in any case, the powers, duties or functions set out in sections 36.1, 38 and 39.
30 Subparagraph 63(1)(a)(ii) of the Act is replaced by the following:
(ii) establish the grounds for findings, recommendations and orders set out in any report under this Part; or
30.1 The portion of section 64 of the Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Information not to be disclosed
64 In carrying out an investigation under this Act and in any report published under subsection 37(3.1) or made to Parliament under section 38 or 39, the Information Commissioner and any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Information Commissioner shall take every reasonable precaution to avoid the disclosure of, and shall not disclose,
31 The portion of section 68 of the Act before paragraph (b) is replaced by the following:
Marginal note:Part 1 does not apply to certain materials
68 This Part does not apply to
(a) published material, other than material published under Part 2, or material available for purchase by the public;
32 The heading before section 70 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Designated Minister’s Duties and Functions
33 Paragraphs 70(1)(b) to (d) of the Act are replaced by the following:
(b) prescribe any forms that may be required for the operation of this Part and the regulations made under this Part;
(c) cause to be prepared and distributed to government institutions directives and guidelines concerning the operation of this Part and the regulations made under this Part; and
(d) cause statistics to be collected on an annual basis for the purpose of assessing the compliance of government institutions with the provisions of this Part and the regulations relating to access to records and cause to be published on an annual basis a report containing a summary of those statistics.
34 Section 71 of the Act is replaced by the following:
Regulations
Marginal note:Governor in Council
71 The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) prescribing limitations in respect of the format in which records are to be provided under subsection 4(2.1);
(b) prescribing limitations in respect of records that can be produced from machine readable records for the purpose of subsection 4(3);
(c) prescribing the procedure to be followed in making and responding to a request for access to a record under this Part;
(d) prescribing, for the purpose of subsection 8(1), the conditions under which a request may be transferred from one government institution to another;
(e) prescribing a fee for the purposes of subsection 11(1);
(f) prescribing, for the purpose of subsection 12(1), the manner or place in which access to a record or a part of a record shall be given;
(g) specifying investigative bodies for the purpose of paragraph 16(1)(a);
(h) specifying classes of investigations for the purpose of paragraph 16(4)(c); and
(i) prescribing the procedures to be followed by the Information Commissioner and any person acting on behalf or under the direction of the Information Commissioner in examining or obtaining copies of records relevant to an investigation of a complaint in respect of a refusal to disclose a record or a part of a record under paragraph 13(1)(a) or (b) or section 15.
35 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 71:
PART 2Proactive Publication of Information
36 The Act is amended by adding the following after the heading of Part 2:
Senate, House of Commons and Parliamentary Entities
Interpretation
Marginal note:Definition of quarter
71.01 In sections 71.02 to 71.14, quarter means a three-month period that begins on the first day of January, April, July or October.
Senators
Marginal note:Travel expenses
71.02 Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which any travel expenses incurred by a Senator are reimbursed, the Speaker of the Senate shall cause to be published on the Senate’s website the following information:
(a) the Senator’s name;
(b) the purpose of the travel;
(c) the dates of the travel;
(d) the places visited;
(e) the total cost for each of the following classes of expenses, including the costs for any other person such as a spouse or dependant who participated in the travel:
(f) the total amount of the travel expenses.
Marginal note:Hospitality expenses
71.03 Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which any expenses incurred by a Senator for a hospitality activity are reimbursed, the Speaker of the Senate shall cause to be published on the Senate’s website the following information:
(a) the Senator’s name;
(b) the purpose of the hospitality activity;
(c) the date of the hospitality activity;
(d) the municipality in which the hospitality activity took place;
(e) the name of any commercial establishment or vendor involved in the hospitality activity;
(f) the number of persons who attended the hospitality activity; and
(g) the total amount of the expenses for the hospitality activity.
Marginal note:Contracts
71.04 (1) Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract is entered into by a Senator with respect to Senate business, including a contract for professional, technical or administrative services or expertise, the Speaker of the Senate shall cause to be published on the Senate’s website the following information:
Marginal note:Increase or decrease in value of contract
(2) Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract referred to in subsection (1) is amended so that its value is increased or decreased, the Speaker of the Senate shall cause to be published on the Senate’s website the value of the contract as amended.
Members of the House of Commons
Marginal note:Travel expenses
71.05 Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which any travel expenses incurred by a member of the House of Commons are reimbursed, the Speaker of the House of Commons shall cause to be published on the House of Commons’ website the following information:
(a) the member’s name;
(b) the purpose of the travel;
(c) the dates of the travel;
(d) the places visited;
(e) the total cost for each of the following classes of expenses, including the costs for any other person such as a spouse or dependant who participated in the travel:
(f) the total amount for all travel expenses.
Marginal note:Hospitality expenses
71.06 Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which any expenses incurred by a member of the House of Commons for a hospitality activity are reimbursed, the Speaker of the House of Commons shall cause to be published on the House of Commons’ website the following information:
(a) the member’s name;
(b) the purpose of the hospitality activity;
(c) the date of the hospitality activity;
(d) the municipality in which the hospitality activity took place;
(e) the name of any commercial establishment or vendor involved in the hospitality activity;
(f) the number of persons who attended the hospitality activity; and
(g) the total amount of the expenses for the hospitality activity.
Marginal note:Contracts
71.07 (1) Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract is entered into by a member of the House of Commons with respect to House of Commons business, including a contract for professional, technical or administrative services or expertise, the Speaker of the House of Commons shall cause to be published on the House of Commons’ website the following information:
Marginal note:Increase or decrease in value of contract
(2) Within 90 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract referred to in subsection (1) is amended so that its value is increased or decreased, the Speaker of the House of Commons shall cause to be published on the House of Commons’ website the value of the contract as amended.
Parliamentary Entities
Marginal note:Definition of head of a parliamentary entity
71.08 In sections 71.09 to 71.11, head of a parliamentary entity means
(a) in respect of any administrative unit of the Senate — including a business sector, an operational division or a directorate — the person or committee that the Senate, by its rules or orders, designates;
(b) in respect of the office of the Senate Ethics Officer, the Speaker of the Senate;
(c) in respect of any administrative unit of the House of Commons, the Speaker of the House of Commons;
(d) in respect of the office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Speaker of the House of Commons;
(e) in respect of the Library of Parliament, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, jointly; and
(f) in respect of the Parliamentary Protective Service, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, jointly.
Marginal note:Travel expenses
71.09 Within 60 days after the end of the quarter in which any travel expenses incurred by an employee of a parliamentary entity are reimbursed, the head of the parliamentary entity shall cause to be published on the entity’s website the following information:
(a) the employee’s name;
(b) the purpose of the travel;
(c) the dates of the travel;
(d) the places visited;
(e) the total cost for each of the following classes of expenses, including the costs for any other person such as a spouse or dependant who participated in the travel:
(f) the total amount of the travel expenses.
Marginal note:Hospitality expenses
71.1 Within 60 days after the end of the quarter in which any expenses incurred by an employee of a parliamentary entity for a hospitality activity are reimbursed, the head of the parliamentary entity shall cause to be published on the entity’s website the following information:
(a) the employee’s name;
(b) the purpose of the hospitality activity;
(c) the date of the hospitality activity;
(d) the municipality in which the hospitality activity took place;
(e) the name of any commercial establishment or vendor involved in the hospitality activity;
(f) the number of persons who attended the hospitality activity; and
(g) the total amount of the expenses for the hospitality activity.
Marginal note:Contracts over $10,000
71.11 (1) Within 60 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract that is in relation to the activities of a parliamentary entity and that has a value of more than $10,000 is entered into, the head of the parliamentary entity shall cause to be published on the entity’s website the following information:
Marginal note:Contracts of $10,000 or less
(2) Within 60 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract — that has been entered into in relation to the activities of a parliamentary entity and that has a value of $10,000 or less — is amended so that its value exceeds $10,000, the head of the parliamentary entity shall cause to be published on the entity’s website the information referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) with respect to the contract as amended.
Marginal note:Increase or decrease in value of contract
(3) Within 60 days after the end of the quarter in which a contract referred to in subsection (1) or (2) is amended so that its value is increased or decreased, the head of the parliamentary entity shall cause to be published on the entity’s website the value of the contract as amended.
Parliamentary Privilege and Security of Persons, Infrastructure and Goods
Marginal note:Parliamentary privilege
71.12 Sections 71.02 to 71.11 do not apply to any of the information or any part of the information referred to in those sections if the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons, as applicable, determines that the publication may constitute a breach of parliamentary privilege.
Marginal note:Security of persons, infrastructure and goods
71.13 The Speaker of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Commons or the person or committee designated for the purposes of paragraph 71.08(a), as applicable, is not required to cause to be published any of the information or any part of the information referred to in any of sections 71.09 to 71.11 if the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons, as applicable, determines, after receiving the advice of the Parliamentary Protective Service or any administrative unit of the Senate or of the House of Commons, that the publication could compromise the security of persons, infrastructure or goods in the parliamentary precinct, as defined in section 79.51 of the Parliament of Canada Act.
Marginal note:Final decision
71.14 A determination by the Speaker of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Commons or a delegate of either 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, subject to the rules and orders of both Houses of Parliament.
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