Robert Marleau

Robert Marleau CM, is a former Canadian federal public servant and former Information Commissioner of Canada.[1] Beginning in 1970, Marleau served 31 years in the Parliament of Canada, 13 of which were as the Clerk of the House of Commons from July 1987 to July 2000. From July 2000 until his retirement at the end of January 2001, he served as Senior Advisor to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Robert Marleau CM
1st Integrity Commissioner of the City of Ottawa
Incumbent
Assumed office 2012
Preceded by	new office
Interim Privacy Commissioner of Canada
In office June 2003 – December 2003
Preceded by	George Radwanski
Succeeded by	Jennifer Stoddart
Information Commissioner of Canada
In office 2007–2009
Preceded by	John Mercer Reid
Succeeded by	Suzanne Legault
Clerk of the House of Commons of Canada
In office 1987–2000
Preceded by	Bev Koester
Succeeded by	William C. Corbett
Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons of Canada
In office 1983–1987 Serving with Mary Ann Griffith and Phillip Laundy
Personal details
Born	Cornwall, Ontario
Alma mater	University of Ottawa

He came out of retirement to serve as Interim Privacy Commissioner and again as Information Commissioner from 2006 to 2009. In his own words, during this time he was "for proactive disclosure, ... for more communication, posting more on the websites, using informal communication methods rather than the Access to Information Act... It's not helpful to appear to be deliberately not communicating,"[2] Marleau resigned from his position in late June 2009, roughly midway through his term.[3] As part of a strongly worded criticism published by Bruce Campion-Smith, contemporary Ottawa Bureau Chief of the Toronto Star, he lamented one day prior to his resignation the decline of "effort by any government to have" the Access to Information Act or similar "processes keep pace with time, change and technology."[4]

As Chief Clerk of the House in 2000, he was the editor, along with Camille Montpetit, of House of Commons Procedure and Practice, which is available both online and in print.[5] This work is part of an ongoing effort, begun in 1884 by Sir John George Bourinot, to document Canadian Parliamentary procedure.

Marleau earned a B.A. in French literature from the University of Ottawa. He received an honorary PhD in 2002.

In December 2016, Marleau was named a Member of the Order of Canada.[6]

See also

Standard reference works on Canadian Parliamentary procedure have been written by other Clerks of the House, including

• Sir John George Bourinot
• Beauchesne's Parliamentary Rules and Forms

References

1. the, House of Lords Select Committee on (February 2009). Surveillance: Citizens and the State. The Stationery Office. pp. 121–. ISBN 978-0-10-401425-7. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
2. TS, 26 May 2008 "How Harper controls the spin"
3. National Post, "Federal information commissioner resigns suddenly" 22 Jun 2009
4. "Turned-off Canadians tuning out" TS 21 Jun 2009
5. Parliament of Canada, "House of Commons Procedure and Practice"
6. "Order of Canada's newest appointees include Paralympian, Supreme Court judge and astrophysicist". CBC News, December 30, 2016.