Harper government given low grade on access to information
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Harper government given low grade on access to information
The Canadian Press Date: Monday May. 3, 2010 8:18 AM ET TORONTO — The epic battle surrounding the release of uncensored Afghanistan detainee documents is the latest example of why the Harper government deserves an F when it comes to access to information, says a new report. While Canada traditionally ranks among the top 20 countries in the world on free expression rights, when it comes to access to information and the federal government "the only assessment can be a failing grade," states the report from the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. "We remain bedevilled by the antics of those federal entities that invoke national security at the drop of a hat to restrict the dissemination of vital information to journalists and, in turn, the public," said the 40-page review, which is being released Monday to coincide with World Press Freedom Day. The high-profile dispute came to a head last week in a historic ruling by Peter Milliken, the Speaker of the House of Commons. Milliken found that Parliament has an absolute right to see all the documents, which are believed to contain information related to the alleged torture of prisoners transferred to Afghan authorities by Canadian soldiers. The three opposition parties banded together in December to demand the release of the uncensored documents, but the government only released several heavily censored collections of material. Since the Speaker's ruling, the government has had one meeting with opposition parties to work out a deal that allows access to the documents while protecting national security, with another one planned for Monday. Bob Carty, a journalist and CJFE board member, called Milliken's ruling a "great step forward for access to information," but noted that the Afghan detainee documents are far from the only case where the government is working against freedom of expression. "The rule should be that it's accessible or free information at all times, and the hiding of it should be the exception," Carty said in an interview. "Unfortunately what we've got now in Canada is the reverse of this." The report found that 43 per cent of federal access to information requests were not met in the required 30-day limit, while in 23 per cent of the cases, it took more than 60 days to get a response. And while Harper promised eight steps to fix the biggest problems related to access to information during the 2006 election campaign, only one has been kept, partially. Harper did extend the act to cover some quasi-governmental entities and Crown corporations, but there are still 100 that aren't covered. "The secrecy in government has become worse under Harper under his direct example," said Carty, adding the Liberals "were not much better." The group wants the government to deliver on the suggested changes, which include giving the information commissioner the power to order the release of government information. They also include expanding coverage of the act to all Crown corporations, and ensuring that all exemptions from the disclosure of government information are justified only on the basis of harm or injury that would result from disclosure. The group did also offer some praise, namely to the Supreme Court for taking on several cases dealing with defamation, the protection of sources and access to information in 2009. But while the court "met all our expectations in establishing the defence of 'responsible communications' ... lofty statements from the Supreme Court do not, in and of themselves, advance the cause of free expression," the group said. Appeal Courts also get top grades for deciding in favour of more open courtrooms when they hear arguments around publication bans, but trial judges all too often "exhibit a stubborn dependence on a knee-jerk use" of the bans. While the CJFE is hopeful there will be improvements on issues such as hate speech, defamation, libel chill, and the protection of sources -- given that key decisions will be coming down in the next few months -- the overall picture, said Carty, is mixed. "The Canadian experience is that of a very uneven student," he said. "They're doing very well on a couple of subjects and doing terribly bad (in others)."