The federal government’s newly launched review of Canada’s Access to Information system is already drawing heavy criticism from transparency advocates, who argue the process is flawed and unlikely to deliver meaningful reform.
Announced quietly in a late Friday news release by the Treasury Board Secretariat, the review is part of a legislated five-year cycle. Officials say they intend to consult with a broad cross-section of Canadians, including Indigenous groups, subject matter experts, and the general public.
But watchdogs say the review lacks independence and accountability — a key concern given that the Treasury Board itself is subject to the very access law it’s reviewing.
Brampton—Chinguacousy Park MP Shafqat Ali, who serves as President of the Treasury Board, has been urged by civil society groups and academics to transfer oversight of the review to an independent body. Critics fear that government-led scrutiny amounts to a conflict of interest that compromises the credibility of the process.
“This is not the way to fix a broken system,” said Matt Malone, a law professor at the University of Ottawa. “The Treasury Board has no incentive to challenge itself. This review will likely waste resources and result in superficial recommendations.”
Canada’s Access to Information Act, first enacted in 1983, allows citizens to request federal documents for a $5 fee. However, critics say the system has become dysfunctional due to long delays, excessive redactions, and outdated provisions.
The last review, launched in 2020, culminated in a 2022 report that mostly recommended administrative tweaks rather than legislative reform. Transparency organizations, journalists, and legal experts widely dismissed that process as inadequate.
Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, warned the current review appears poised to repeat the same mistakes.
“The last review was almost universally rejected as illegitimate,” Mendel said. “This review seems destined to suffer the same fate. The act is fundamentally flawed and needs serious overhaul — not just surface-level adjustments.”
According to Mendel’s group, Canada’s Access to Information Act scores only 93 out of 150 on the global Right to Information Rating, placing the country 53rd among 140 nations — a poor showing for a developed democracy.
Many advocates argue that true reform would include expanding the law’s scope, closing loopholes, enforcing tighter response deadlines, and increasing funding for the Office of the Information Commissioner.
The Treasury Board Secretariat has not responded to requests for comment on the independence and scope of the current review. For now, skepticism grows among those who believe government transparency in Canada is still more promise than practice.