Key Messages

Culture change

The purpose of the Act is to enable access to information that can and should be disclosed.
There is a culture of secrecy within government. Heads of institutions err on the side of caution because there is little incentive to be transparent.
When responding to access to information requests, the focus is on what to withhold rather than maximum disclosure.
I always tell leaders we need a change of culture when it comes to access to information.
Public servants are proud of the work they do, and institutions should welcome the opportunity to share their achievements.
The focus must be on maximizing disclosure, simplifying processes, and demonstrating accountability.

It has never been more important for Canadians to have confidence in our democratic institutions.
Government records containing accurate and reliable information must be made available in a timely manner.
In our digital world, disinformation and misinformation spread very quickly.
Access to accurate facts and reliable information is more critical than ever.
Two years ago, I joined with my provincial and territorial colleagues to issue a resolution on facilitating access to restore trust.
We called upon our respective governments to modernize legislation, policies, and information management.
I continue to believe that timely access to information is a key tool in countering misinformation and disinformation.

I will play an active role in this exercise, building on the recommendations I made during the last review.
I will continue to press for long-overdue changes to Act, including:
- broadening the application to include the Office of the Prime Minister and ministers offices;
- subjecting Cabinet confidences to the Act;
- limiting the application of certain exemptions, such as section 21, (advice and recommendations) and adding a public interest override provision;
- setting out a maximum length of time for consultations needed to respond to access requests.
I would be pleased to contribute to any study on Access to Information that this committee may undertake.

My office is committed to the spirit of the review.
We are not proceeding with our $600K budget request to cover our permanent funding shortfall stemming from issues around the collective agreement allocation we had previously identified.
We continue to explore options to operate effectively and efficiently, manage our budget in a prudent and responsible manner, and deliver results for Canadians.