The federal government is becoming a little more transparent with the publication on the Web of access to information requests made to Library and Archives Canada, ignoring the question of translation, which seems to prevent other departments from doing the same.
What do intelligence reports on the Front de libération du Québec, the plan for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney’s official visit to China and the piloting instructions for a Chinook helicopter have in common?
The documents, written in English, are among 1,013 old access to information requests that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) uploaded to its website this summer. The institution is giving itself until next April to make available a total of 2.5 million pages requested over the past decade.
With the exception of the National Capital Commission and CBC/Radio-Canada, no other federal institution automatically makes available online the documents it has had to produce in accordance with the Access to Information Act. However, this is common practice in the Government of Quebec.
“I think it’s a wonderful initiative that advances the public interest, transparency and accountability in government,” says law professor Matt Malone of Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C.
According to the specialist in Canada’s access to information system, federal departments have until now taken refuge behind the argument of respect for official languages to avoid massively disclosing the documents they produce. The overwhelming majority of the federal government’s internal paperwork is written in English.
“It undermines support for bilingualism, I think, because that justification creates the perception that language laws are being used against transparency,” Malone said.
Evolution on translation
A briefing note obtained by the Globe and Mail in 2022 shows that the Treasury Board Secretariat, the department responsible for ensuring the access to information system works properly, believes that the law requires it to have all of these documents translated before publishing them on the Web. Since these are millions of pages, the process would be too costly.
However, at a time when LAC has become the third federal institution to provide access to the content of its archives in their original language, the federal official languages watchdog is no longer denouncing the practice of proactive disclosure as ardently.
Asked about this by The duty for the first time, in July 2023, The Commissioner of Official Languages, Raymond Théberge, had categorically ruled: information on the Internet must always be offered in both official languages. “Individuals have the right to receive services from federal institutions in the official language of their choice. We can therefore expect that the federal institution will provide services and communications in both official languages when it engages in activities that are made available to the general public,” a spokesperson had specified.
Questioned a second time on this principle, a year later, the Office of the Commissioner indicates that it has since opened two investigations concerning the absence of an official language in requests for access to information published on the Web, which prevents it from commenting on the matter.
In an email, Library and Archives Canada spoke of a “delicate balance” between improving access to archives and respecting the original documents. “Ensuring access to government records is the foundation of a modern, functioning democracy and is an integral part of LAC’s mandate.”
Well received
French-speaking Internet users are not being violated in their rights, even if internal documents or archives are published on the Web in English, believes Pierre Trudel, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Montreal and specialist in the right to information.
“The most tiring thing is seeing the Law [sur les langues officielles] be used as a pretext. In other cases, officials use the principle of privacy protection to avoid responding to access to information requests. Laws designed to defend people’s rights are used to maintain obscurity.”
According to Mr. Trudel, institutions could make these documents available and consider translations on a case-by-case basis if requested.
The Information Commissioner of Canada, Caroline Maynard, did not wish to comment on the issue of respect for official languages, but specified that she “applauds and encourages” the initiative of LAC, which “reinforces the trust of citizens in their government and reduces the pressure on the access to information system.”