FOI Reform
Curiosity, Commitment and Change
Canada like other jurisdictions needs to drastically improve its freedom of information (FOI) legislation. Toward that necessary public debate and action, I developed a model FOI bill that I presented to the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics Committee in 2009. Canada’s existing legislation is too much a secrecy act and not working well.
For FOI reform to occur, there needs to be both the will to do so and commitment and a natural desire to know, to be curious. We cannot have a right to know without citizenry who value their rights to freedom of expression and have a critical desire to inform and be informed.
That’s why I use the example here of how my intervention several years ago saved three old pine trees from being cut down in the Gatineau Park in Canada’s Capital in less than a day. Then Ottawa Citizen reporter John Ibbitson (now Ottawa bureau chief at the Globe and Mail) captured the essence of that day’s action in his September 4, 1991 column entitled “Trees disrupt bureaucratic slumber”.
It is not everyday in the field of information access and follow up that things get done so quickly! It was a story that brought together the power of media reporting with the public desire to know. And to make the story complete, I then had the Quebec Ministry of Transportation remove the large red “X” spray painted on each tree.
Every time I pass those three majestic trees, I am reminded of the three forces – curiosity, commitment and change – that are the necessary ingredients to achieving greater transparency.
My career has been built around testing the public’s right to know and getting that right dramatically improved. I challenge all of us to take up the cause of a more transparent society. I’m still there to be an information warrior along with you.
Model Bill for Better Public Access in Ottawa
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