Canada’s information commissioner is calling for a major overhaul of the 43-year-old Access to Information Act, warning that public disclosure deadlines are routinely missed as growing volumes of digital communications strain Canada’s access-to-information system.
Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard told MPs on May 4 that complaints are increasing as outdated legislation, funding pressures, and weak enforcement tools further slow public access to records.
“We need to look into the legislation, given the different ways people work now,” she said. “This legislation was created when people were working with paper documents. Now we’re dealing with electronic documents.”
Maynard made the comments in testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, saying the Access to Information Act, passed in 1983, is out of step with the digital age….