THE OFFICES OF THE INFORMATION AND PRIVACY COMMISSIONERS: THE MERGER AND RELATED ISSUES

November 15, 2005

Delivered By Hand

The Hon. Irwin Cotler
Attorney General of Canada
Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6

Dear Sir:

I am pleased to present you with my report concerning the desirability of merging the offices of the Information Comissionner and the Privacy Comissionner and the related issues reffered to in the Terms of Reference. I am gratified that the Prime Minister and yourself chose me to undertake an examination of an issue that has continued to arise in respect of these two offices from their inception. I am hopeful that the report will be helpful to you in considering the matter

I derive considerable satisfaction from the fact that I was able to complete the Report within the time frame set forth in the Terms of Reference. This would not have been possible without the timely assistance of both commissionners and a number of the provincial commissioners, and former commissioners at both levels of government, as well as a number of other interested individuals and organizations, all of whom are listed in the Appendix to the report. To all of them I am most grateful for their cooperation and I thank them for it.

Closer to home, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the outstanding work done by Professor Steven Penney of the Faculty of Law of the University of New Brunswick, who assisted me in conducting the necessary research and in writing the report, and my Legal assistant, Shyanne MacLaggan whose administrative skills were a constant source of support.

Finally I am grateful to members of your Department who, at the request of the Deputy Minister John Sims, assisted me with the logistical tasks associated with the review, particularly, Ms. Mimi LePage who acted in a liaison capacity.

Yours sincerely
Signature - Gerard V. La Forest

Gérard V. La Forest