QUESTION PERIOD — Prime Minister’s Office
Access to Information
November 2, 2023
Government leader, on October 16, Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard spoke to a committee of the other place about the poor state of access to information after eight years of the Trudeau government. The commissioner said:
. . . some government institutions now routinely violate this law on a daily basis and . . . there is no or little indication that the government intends to act to rectify the situation. . . .
Leader, you told us last year that transparency, accountability and openness are guiding principles of your government. How can that be when the NDP-Liberal government breaks our transparency laws every day?
You’re right to underline the importance of openness and transparency. These are goals that are — and should be — the guiding principles of a government in a democratic society. They are essential to our democracy, and they are principles to which this government is committed.
It should be recalled that this government — as I’m advised, and I think I’m correct — was the first in over 30 years to introduce major reforms to the Access to Information Act, and has invested significant additional funds to improve access to information. As I recall from some years ago, in reviewing the legislation at committee — of which I was a member and heard that testimony — improving access to information is a complicated problem that has a lot to do with human resources, retention and the like. This is an explanation, not a justification, and more needs to be done.
The fact is that millions of taxpayers’ dollars are spent each year on the access to information system that this government routinely violates. They are just not worth the cost. In any government, the tone is set from the top. If the Prime Minister’s Office wouldn’t provide all relevant documents to the RCMP regarding the SNC-Lavalin scandal, why should public servants worry about breaking Canada’s transparency laws every day?
Thank you for your question. I do believe that the challenges to full compliance are multi-faceted, and, with respect, I am not prepared to accept the characterization or the linkage that you made in your question. The fact is that more work needs to be done, more resources are being placed and progress needs to be made.
