Cynicism toward politicians doesnt grow in a vacuum. <\/p>\n
Flip-flopping on commitments, hedging on ethical questions, doing one thing while packaging it as its opposite each chips away at the edifice of public trust. <\/p>\n
Openness and accountability help, and thats why credit is due to the Trudeau government for unveiling at last the first major overhaul of federal access-to-information law in 34 years. <\/p>\n
Credit has been earned but so has criticism. This legislation is one more case where Liberal government actions have not lived up to Liberal campaign promises. <\/p>\n
Canadians were promised radical government transparency, but this is not that. Instead, its a facsimile of bold action, one preserving opacity where it best serves an incumbent government. <\/p>\n
There is a substantial gulf between the information a given government is prepared to reveal and all the information to which the public should be entitled. Despite lofty claims of pledges fulfilled, this bill does not bridge it. <\/p>\n
Take, for example, the Liberal election promise to amend the Access to Information Act so that it applies to the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers. Has it been lived up to? <\/p>\n
This week, Treasury Board President Scott Brison tried to claim it had, saying we are extending the Access to Information Act to ministers offices and to the Prime Ministers Office for the first time ever, through proactive disclosure. <\/p>\n
That briskly elides the fact that, beyond expenses, mandate letters and certain contracts and briefing materials, much of the information housed in the PMO and ministers offices will remain outside the access-to-information ambit. <\/p>\n
Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has called ministers offices a black hole for access. After this legislation passes, it will still be. Perhaps that shouldnt come as a surprise. <\/p>\n
This is a government, after all, that last week refused to reveal what top staffers in Mr. Trudeaus PMO earn all that is known is that the salary scale ranges from $150,000 to $350,000. <\/p>\n
More egregiously, the new act omits all mention of a key recommendation from Ms. Legault, open-government advocates and a Parliamentary committee, all of whom have called for a public-interest override provision in granting exceptions to disclosure. <\/p>\n
It also contains unnecessarily muddy language about bad faith requests and allows departments and agencies to deny them; this has all the trappings of a loophole. <\/p>\n
That said, the bill has many positive aspects. <\/p>\n
It confers broader powers to the Information Commissioner, including the ability to compel the release of information without time-consuming and costly recourse to the federal courts, which has become a familiar tactic. <\/p>\n
There are also provisions requiring MPs to be more forthcoming about their expenses. <\/p>\n
Mr. Brison indicated the proposed changes announced this week are a first step; that further reforms could follow as part of the legislative reviews that must take place every five years. <\/p>\n
Heres the problem: Mr. Trudeaus government is well into its second year and has had ample time to hear the experts out. In fact, it need only read Ms. Legaults last two annual reports for a road-map of what to fix and how to fix it. <\/p>\n
Her most recent report, tabled on June 8, is a chronicle of obfuscation, bureaucratic chicanery and defensive litigation. <\/p>\n
The public has the right to know, or so goes the saying; but many of those who run the federal police, army, prisons and diplomatic apparatus apparently didnt get the memo. <\/p>\n
In 2015-16, fewer than 20 per cent of access requests were dealt with within 30 days, and in cases where they were granted, the information requested was rarely released in full. For requests to the RCMP, full disclosure happened in fewer than 10 per cent of cases. <\/p>\n
Ms. Legault noted an increase in the volume of requests and warned decisive action is needed to guard against going down a slippery slope of declining performance. <\/p>\n
The report recommends extending coverage of the act, establishing a duty to document, slashing delays, narrowing exemptions, and beefing up oversight. <\/p>\n
Yes, the new legislation is an improvement on the status quo. But it is also a disappointment. <\/p>\n
Lest anyone forget, Mr. Trudeaus first private-members bill as leader of the then-opposition Liberals was the 2014 Transparency Act. <\/p>\n
It did not pass, but served to contrast Mr. Trudeau with the congenitally secretive Harper Conservatives. <\/p>\n
Three years later, his government is showing itself to be different, yet not so different. <\/p>\n
Politicians who make a practice of over-promising on the campaign trail and under-delivering in power do so at their peril. <\/p>\n
Follow us on Twitter: @GlobeDebate <\/p>\n
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Globe editorial: Liberal improvements to access to information are less than advertised - The Globe and Mail<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cynicism toward politicians doesnt grow in a vacuum. Flip-flopping on commitments, hedging on ethical questions, doing one thing while packaging it as its opposite each chips away at the edifice of public trust. Openness and accountability help, and thats why credit is due to the Trudeau government for unveiling at last the first major overhaul of federal access-to-information law in 34 years Continue reading