Thursday, February 26, 2009

Ottawa is delaying our right to access information

A tiny little article appeared in today's Globe and Mail, it was an article that talked about how "The Harper Conservatives now routinely delay requests for government documents – a right of Canadians under the law – well beyond the 30 days that the Access to Information Act requires." (a quote from the article)

I find this story somewhat alarming, as Canadians we have a right to hold our government accountable, we have a right to see what decisions are made on our behalf and we have a right to obtain this information within 30 days of having sent a request through registered mail.

Why aren't we obtaining our information and why people aren't speaking up about it just boggles my mind... I knew the previous Liberal government wasn't the greatest in this department, but they weren't staling, ignoring or delaying any requests beyond a reasonable period.

According to our Information Commissioner Robert Marleau speaking of a report he presented to parliament “I do believe that its results provide a grim picture of the federal government's access to information regime.”

Is this a sign of more to come under the current leadership?

Muchacho Enfermo

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