QUESTION PERIOD — Treasury Board Secretariat
Information Transparency
March 12, 2026
Government leader, in your government’s review of the Access to Information Act, the Treasury Board discussion papers are proposing changes that could delay responses, narrow what counts as an official record and allow departments to put requests on hold, effectively reducing Canadians’ access to information.
Experts, including the Information Commissioner, have said that these proposals lack ambition and are a step backward for transparency.
Senator Moreau, can you share the rationale for supporting these changes or are these measures simply designed to shield the government from accountability under the guise of modernizing access to information?
My understanding, senator, is that the government is committed to transparency and modernizing the system of access to information.
We have many discussions in committees and in the chamber concerning those important issues. My understanding is that there is a very strong commitment by the government to improve transparency.
Senator Moreau, these proposed changes ignore long-standing issues, like excessive delays and cabinet confidence exemptions.
Despite decades of warnings from transparency experts, how can Canadians trust that these changes are about improving transparency rather than creating loopholes to shield government decisions from public scrutiny?
I’m confident that there are no bad intentions behind the government’s transparency measure, regardless of which party is governing at the time of the proposed legislation. I do not see any bad intentions. Quite the contrary, I reiterate that the government is committed to more transparency.
