The committee met to study the Main Estimates for 2026-27, hearing from Caroline Maynard, Information Commissioner, and Konrad von Finckenstein, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, accompanied by Anne-Marie Roy.
Caroline Maynard reported that her office received $15.7 million in voted funding, a 0.45% increase, but warned that rising complaint volumes—60% higher in April than the previous year—and delays by institutions, with 40,000 of nearly 200,000 requests not answered within the 30-day timeline, are straining the system. She recommended an independent funding mechanism for agents of Parliament, as previously proposed by the committee, and urged that the Access to Information Act be modernized to include ministers' offices and the Prime Minister's Office under its scope, noting that other Commonwealth countries already do so. She disagreed with the characterization that a small number of requesters clog the system, arguing that institutions' poor information management is the main problem, and supported a duty to document and a mandatory declassification program.
Konrad von Finckenstein requested a modest $227,000 increase to his $9.4 million budget, largely for salary adjustments, and emphasized that the Conflict of Interest Act balances avoiding conflicts with attracting qualified people to public office. He recommended including apparent conflicts of interest in the act, allowing public office holders to engage in unpaid teaching or charitable activities, and creating a mechanism for someone to act in his stead if he is unable to serve. He stated that the current system works well overall and that the Prime Minister's conflict of interest screen is functioning effectively, with the Clerk and chief of staff responsible for its administration. He declined to opine on the committee's recommendation for a sale-only divestment rule, calling it a matter for Parliament.
The committee debated a motion by Michael Barrett requiring the Privy Council Office to provide monthly reports on assessments of the Prime Minister's conflict of interest screen and to produce the Prime Minister's travel itineraries. An amendment to delete the travel records portion was adopted, but a subsequent Liberal subamendment to replace monthly reporting with quarterly reports, delete certain clauses, and add a requirement to post reports publicly and invite the commissioner quarterly was not resolved. The committee agreed to resume consideration of the subamendment after the next regularly scheduled meeting.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.