Christopher MacDonald made a statement and answered questions.

At 12:19 p.m., the meeting was suspended.

At 12:22 p.m., the meeting resumed.

It was agreed, — That the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner and the Procurement Ombud be invited to appear for one hour each to discuss the resources they have to carry out their mandate.

Stephanie Kusie moved, —

That, given recent concerns regarding information management of public servant emails, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1), the committee undertake a four-meeting study to better understand how the Government of Canada’s Information Management Policy, the Privacy Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Treasury Board's Directive on Information Management govern the handling and storage of government records, and invite the following witnesses to appear:

• President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand;
• Treasury Board officials;
• President of the CBSA, Erin O’Gorman;
• Information Commissioner of Canada, Caroline Maynard;
• Former Chief Technology Officer of Canada, Minh Doan;
• Chief Technology Officer of Canada, Luc Gagnon;
• Former Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Canada, Cameron MacDonald; and
• IT security specialist involved in investigation.

Debate arose thereon.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, given recent concerns regarding information management of public servant emails, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1), the committee undertake a four-meeting study to better understand how the Government of Canada’s Information Management Policy, the Privacy Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Treasury Board's Directive on Information Management govern the handling and storage of government records, and invite the following witnesses to appear:

• President of the Treasury Board, Anita Anand;
• Treasury Board officials;
• President of the CBSA, Erin O’Gorman;
• Information Commissioner of Canada, Caroline Maynard;
• Former Chief Technology Officer of Canada, Minh Doan;
• Chief Technology Officer of Canada, Luc Gagnon;
• Former Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Canada, Cameron MacDonald; and
• IT security specialist involved in investigation;

and that the committee agree to conclude this study after hearing from these witnesses and move on to the review of a draft report; that the committee present a report to the House and request a government response.

The debate continued.

The motion, as amended, read as follows:

That, given recent concerns regarding information management of public servant emails, pursuant to Standing Order 108(1), the committee undertake a three-meeting study to better understand how the Government of Canada’s Information Management Policy, the Privacy Act, the Access to Information Act, and the Treasury Board's Directive on Information Management govern the handling and storage of government records, and invite the following witnesses to appear:

• Treasury Board officials;
• President of the CBSA, Erin O’Gorman;
• Information Commissioner of Canada, Caroline Maynard;
• Chief Technology Officer of Canada, Luc Gagnon; and
• IT security specialist involved in investigation;

And that the committee agree to conclude this study after hearing from these witnesses and move on to the review of a draft report; that the committee present a report to the House and request a government response.

Charles Sousa moved, — That, given the Chair made a unilateral decision to cancel the meeting on Thursday, October 10, 2024, and then called a meeting with less than the usual practice of 48 hours of notice during a House adjournment week without consulting with other parties, the committee members request that the Chair: (a) adhere as much as possible to the committee's usual schedule; (b) for meetings called outside standard scheduled times of the committee, or not due to Standing Order 106(4), the Chair consult and obtain agreement from members; (c) respect a minimum of a 48-hour notice period, and (d) that particular attention and respect to these requests be given during House adjournment weeks.

RULING BY THE CHAIR

The Chair ruled the motion inadmissible as it is substantially the same as the motion proposed by Parm Bains on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, on which debate was adjourned.