Lawyer Michel Drapeau says that the Office of the Information Commissioner has become a ‘top-heavy’ organization that has strayed from its primary function of investigating complaints
, the committee heard from Federal Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard, who warned that her office was on track to receive 10,000 complaints this year – a new record.
Mr. Drapeau said the American system is a better model in this sense, as it does not have an information commissioner. Any complaints are submitted to the agency that has the records, and if an applicant doesn’t like the response, they can go directly to court. In a statement provided to The Globe and Mail, Ms. Maynard said they have 103 employees out of 135 working on investigations.
“We need more resources, we need more innovation, and we definitely need more leaders that believe in access,” she said.