National

Transparency advocates call for independent review of Access to Information Act

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Jun, 2025 01:25 PM

Transparency advocates say a coming federal review of the Access to Information Act should be overseen by an independent panel, not the government, to avoid the pitfalls of the last such exercise.

In a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, civil society groups, academics and others call for a genuine and timely examination of the access law.

The next federal review of the Access to Information regime is set to begin soon.

For a $5 fee, people can use the access law to ask for a range of federal documents — from internal emails to policy memos — but it the law has long been criticized as out of date and poorly administered.

The law has not been overhauled since its introduction more than 40 years ago and many users complain of lengthy delays and report getting heavily blacked-out documents or full denials in response to their applications.

On the federal election trail in April, Carney committed to an "objective review" of the system, saying it would serve Canadians well.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Earthquake shakes Vancouver and other B.C. cities

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has shaken Vancouver, Victoria and other B.C. cities. Natural Resources Canada says the quake was centred 24 kilometres north-northeast of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast.

Earthquake shakes Vancouver and other B.C. cities

Heiltsuk Nation written constitution passes with 67 per cent of votes

The Heiltsuk Nation has approved the adoption of a written constitution for the First Nation on British Columbia's central coast. The nation says 67 per cent of the 725 people who voted on the referendum were in favour of the constitution.

Heiltsuk Nation written constitution passes with 67 per cent of votes

Poilievre's proposed incentives for First Nations water, resource projects draw fire

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he would incentivize First Nations to support natural-resource projects through industry taxes and revisiting how much sway Indigenous Peoples and environmental considerations have over approving projects. The proposals drew swift criticism from some experts and researchers.

Poilievre's proposed incentives for First Nations water, resource projects draw fire

Indigenous kids in care more likely to experience poor health later in life: report

Indigenous people who were in government care as children experience poorer health and socioeconomic outcomes later in life than those who were never in care, a new Statistics Canada report says. They suffer higher rates of disability, lower self-rated health levels and more homelessness, and are more likely to struggle to meet basic household needs, the report says.

Indigenous kids in care more likely to experience poor health later in life: report

Ex-coroner says B.C.'s drug policy overhaul looks like 'impulsive political decision'

British Columbia's former chief coroner says she's disappointed by the province's overhaul of its program that provides prescription alternatives to toxic street drugs, a shift she says "feels like a really impulsive political decision." Lisa Lapointe said the move to a "witnessed-only" model in which people are supervised while consuming their prescription drugs appeared to ignore scientific evidence.

Ex-coroner says B.C.'s drug policy overhaul looks like 'impulsive political decision'

Internal military report blames botched shooter drill on poor organization

During the drill, which took place on Nov. 12 at a service depot at CFB Longue-Pointe in Montreal, military police also confused a racialized employee with a drill participant playing an active shooter and wrestled him to the ground.