Liberals end access to information fees, more reforms coming

Treasury Board President Scott Brison calls new directive a “first step” on longer overhaul of Access to Information Act.

Thestar.com
May 5, 2016
By Alex Boutilier

The federal government will no longer charge large fees for Canadians’ access to government information, Treasury Board President Scott Brison announced Thursday.

Under the access to information system, any Canadian can request government documents for a $5 fee. The system is used predominantly by citizens and businesses, but also journalists, academics and non-government organizations.

Appearing before a House of Commons committee, Brison revealed an interim directive for the federal government’s access to information system, calling it a first step toward larger legislative reform.

Brison’s interim directive would:

• Waive all fees beyond a $5 application fee.
• Change the “context” of the system to better reflect the Liberals’ pledge that government operations be “open by default.”
• And direct departments to release the information in the format the requester asks for, so long as that’s technically feasible.

While the last point may seem minor, it allows Canadians to request government databases in formats they can actually use, or use a computer to quickly sift through thousands of pages for keywords.

Currently, departments often print out government documents and re-scan them into PDF format before releasing them, rendering them useless for computer analysis.

Waiving the fees will also have little impact on the government’s bottom line, but removes a potential barrier to access when departments require large fees to process information requests.

In 2014-15, the cost to operate the access to information system was $67 million, while the government collected just $368,000 in fees.

Brison said that the changes, which go into effect immediately, are a first step on the Liberals’ path toward overhauling the access to information system. The Access to Information Act has not been substantially updated since its introduction in the 1980s.

“In the interim, we’ve sent a clear signal in terms of open by default and that increasingly the onus will not be on citizens to say why they need the information, it will be on government to say why citizens can’t have the information,” Brison told the Star.

Brison announced in March that the government would undertake a two-step reform of the access regime, introducing legislation for quicker fixes later this year.

The government has signalled their intention to give the Office of the Information Commissioner the power to compel departments and agencies to release information, rather than simply recommend they do.

The Liberals have also promised to expand the act to cover ministers’ offices, the Prime Minister’s Office, as well as some institutions that support Parliament.

It’s not clear whether those changes will be included in legislation later this year, or will be part of the larger legislative review planned for 2018.