OGGO Committee Report

Supplementary Opinion from the Conservative Party of Canada

Conservative members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates (the Committee) would like to thank all witnesses for providing testimony to the Committee throughout the course of this study. While the Committee Report does a good job of summarizing the testimony we heard, the recommendations fall short of substantively ensuring that Government communications remain free of non-partisan influence.

During the study we heard that Ministers offices and staff were able to access data, analytics, and information gathered from social media advertising. While it is important that Ministers and their staff be fully informed of the opinions of Canadians, it would unfairly advantage members of the government if staff were to have full access to such detailed, taxpayer funded information. We heard no testimony on why such information should not remain at the disposal of public servants in lieu of Ministerial staff, given that it is the function of public servants to provide expert advice to the Minister.

Recommendation 1:              The Government of Canada immediately end access of the Minister’s political staff to advertising analytics to ensure the non-partisan nature of government advertising.

The Committee also heard that the government is unaware of the true ownership of data gathered through advertising with Facebook and Google. Conservative members believe it would be highly inappropriate for American information technology companies to own statistical analysis and information gathered by the Government of Canada. The testimony we heard did not sufficiently address our concerns about the data of Canadians being open to outside interference, especially during election periods.

Recommendation 2:              The Government clarify ownership of data and information gathered through advertising purchased from foreign companies, and ensure that any sensitive information remains owned by Canadians.