Canada’s information czar launches review of federal law on 30th anniversary

OTTAWA – A federal watchdog is launching a major review of Canada’s Access to Information Act, but at least one critic says she’s overstepping her mandate.

Information commissioner Suzanne Legault says the review will look at lessons learned in five other countries, as well as in the provinces, to propose updates to a law born long before the age of the Internet.

Legault says she’ll release a discussion paper in September, then gather comments from Canadians before putting firm proposals before Parliament next spring.

She says the long-overdue exercise could help restore Canada’s damaged reputation globally as a leader in freedom of information.

But Michael Drapeau, an expert in freedom-of-information, says Legault has no legal mandate to review the act and should stick to resolving complaints from users of the Act.

Drapeau says the overhaul task should instead be given to Canada’s auditor general to determine how the system is broken and what’s needed to fix it.