(Ottawa) The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics plans to look into Canada’s widely criticized access to information system – a file that has been under study for a long time in order to make the government more transparent.
Posted at 10:11 p.m.
Tory MP Pat Kelly, chairman of the committee, says the system is plagued by undue delays and a culture of secrecy that “has been taking hold for decades”.
The Access to Information Act allows people who pay $5 to request an array of federal documents — internal emails, billings, backgrounders and memos — but it has long been criticized as outdated and poorly implemented.
Federal agencies are expected to respond within 30 days or provide valid reasons why more time is needed to process a request.
The law hasn’t been significantly updated since it was introduced 39 years ago, and many users complain of long delays, heavily obscured documents or blanket denials in response to their requests.
According to the government, the expected performance of institutions is to respond to 90% of access requests within the time limits provided for by law, including extensions.
Of 140 federal agencies that responded to requests in 2020-21, 69 met that standard, while 71 did not, primarily due to “workload pressures within the organization,” according to the government.
Problems with the access system have persisted for years under both Conservative and Liberal governments, Kelly said.
“People still complain about the refusals, the slowness and the general culture of secrecy,” he said. And that has been a feature of the Canadian government for a very long time. »
Despite this, Mr Kelly accuses Justin Trudeau’s Liberals of failing to deliver on their 2015 election promise to make government information open by default.
Federal officials reported an increasing number of access requests and the growing complexity of requests.
“I think everything the government says in response to criticism is an apology,” Kelly said. Surely they can find a solution, if they have the will. »
The hon. member has no illusions that fundamental changes will happen overnight. “It’s been going on for decades,” he said. You’re certainly not going to be able to flip a switch and instantly go from a culture of secrecy to a true culture of openness by default. »
Kelly said no hearing date has been set as the committee is busy completing studies into facial recognition programs and the use of surveillance technology by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). ).
The committee’s planned review comes as the federal government works to complete its own review of the access to information system, which began more than two years ago.
Written and oral submissions to the federal review called for expanding the Access to Information Act, closing many loopholes in the law, strict deadlines for responding to requests, and more resources to operate the system.