The committee met to study the main estimates for the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying and the Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada for fiscal year 2026-27. Appearing were Nancy Bélanger, Commissioner of Lobbying, and Philippe Dufresne, Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Nancy Bélanger described her office’s $6.1-million budget, with most going to salaries, and noted that rising costs for IT and other services are straining operations. She urged the committee to consider a new funding model for agents of Parliament to reinforce their independence, suggesting a parliamentary committee determine budgets. She highlighted 21 recommendations to simplify the Lobbying Act, including registration by default, removing the distinction between organizations and corporations, and creating a spectrum of penalties such as administrative monetary penalties and prohibition on lobbying. She noted that 19 files have been referred to the RCMP during her tenure, with charges laid in two cases, and that she cannot publicly report on returned files because she lacks authority to make findings of breach. She disagreed with the suggestion that her office is purely reactive, emphasizing proactive outreach with nearly 200 educational sessions reaching over 2,000 people, but acknowledged that without penalties for late registrations—which affect about 8% of filings—compliance suffers.
Philippe Dufresne reported that his office faces an 82% increase in complaints, to over 6,000, and welcomed a five-year extension of temporary funding but stressed the need for permanent resources and modernized privacy laws. He highlighted the joint investigation into OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which found non-compliance at the federal level initially but was resolved with recommendations, though British Columbia’s regulator disagreed due to different legal definitions. He called for order-making power and the ability to impose fines, noting that Canada lags behind other jurisdictions, and pointed to the Aylo/Pornhub case where the company refused to accept recommendations. He discussed the CRA investigation, which found over 42,000 material privacy breaches since 2020, and recommended stronger safeguards like mandatory multifactor authentication. He also emphasized the importance of legally requiring privacy impact assessments and algorithmic impact assessments, and supported integrated government services with appropriate privacy protections. On age assurance, he issued guidance stressing data minimization and proportionality, and noted that privacy is a fundamental right that enables trust and innovation.
The committee then considered and agreed to the main estimates for the Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner, the Office of the Senate Ethics Officer, the Offices of the Commissioner of Lobbying, and the Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Canada, all on division.
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