“In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes,” Benjamin Franklin once said. To these two observations, should we add the much-needed reform of the access to information law ignored by all Quebec governments for several years?
A year ago, the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ) and several other organizations bringing together citizens and researchers signed an open letter calling for a review of the Act respecting access to documents held by public bodies and the protection of personal information1.
What has happened since? Nothing. No. No.
Unfortunately, this is not a big surprise. Successive governments in recent years have all ignored this outdated law, despite, at times, promises of increased transparency.
Who does not remember the commitment of former Premier Philippe Couillard to make his government elected in 2014 the most transparent in the history of Quebec?
What happened after 2014? Nothing. No. No.
Four years later, the FPJQ signed another open letter with the Quebec Press Council and several major Quebec media bosses.2. We then denounced the adoption of Bill 164 which restricted access to the documents of the Executive Council, which reports to the Prime Minister. We also called for a new access to information bill.
What happened ? Nothing, niet, nada again.
Since 2018, four ministers have exchanged responsibility for the access to information file in the Government of Quebec. Nothing has moved though.
These are not the arguments that are lacking in order to carry out a reform of the law adopted 40 years ago. At the time, it was considered one of the most innovative in Canada. This is no longer the case today, as noted by the Quebec Information Access Commission (CAI) for several years.
One need only read the CAI’s most recent five-year report to identify the numerous “holes” in the law, which make access to information in Quebec increasingly problematic.
More than a babe
However, for many, access to information is a “baby” for journalists in need of news. This is perhaps what explains the general population’s lack of interest in this little-known law.
It is true that journalists regularly use access to information in the course of their work.
But contrary to popular belief, access requests filed by journalists represent only a very small proportion of the total volume of requests made in a year.
This means that the vast majority of requests are submitted by citizens, different organizations and, sometimes, even elected officials! It’s called the elephant in the room, which is talked about too little.
It is with this perspective in mind that we invite the public to take an interest in this issue which is perhaps not the sexiest, but nevertheless essential.
“The Commission notes that an increasing number of legislative provisions exclude the application of the Access Act and the Privacy Act, gradually eroding their predominant character”, concludes the CAI from the outset. in its most recent five-year report. Provisions which infringe more and more fundamental rights in a democratic society, the report points out.
That’s not all. In terms of restrictions on the right of access, the CAI points out that Quebec is looking more and more like a student who has been made to wear a dunce cap. “It is in terms of restrictions on the right of access to documents that the access law is the most ineffective and that it deviates the most from modern international standards,” it says.
From a citizen perspective, the CAI highlights, among other things, the difficulties encountered in gaining access to the investigation files of professional orders. In particular, she suggests reviewing the “almost absolute discretion” of professional orders to refuse to communicate certain documents. Considering that the primary mission of a professional order is to protect the public, this recommendation resembles a truth from La Palice.
Reading the abridged version of the CAI’s last five-year report is certainly worth the detour.3. The problem is that this report dates… from 2016. The government has indeed decided to postpone until 2026 the publication of the report scheduled for 2021.
While Quebec’s record in terms of access to information continues to deteriorate, can we really afford to wait 10 years before making an inventory? If a student almost always fails his most important exams, would the solution be to stop evaluating him?
This is the question we put to the former Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, who is now responsible for access to information in Cabinet. The minister recently showed some openness to introducing an access to information bill, but it will take more than words this time.