The Treasury Board Secretariat is currently conducting a review of the Access to Information Act (ATIA), which commenced last week.In a letter submitted to the Prime Minister and Treasury Board Secretariat, civil society groups have requested the act be reformed to ensure its implementation aligns with its intended purpose. They request the ATIA be reassessed with modern democratic principles, be independent and unbiased, consult Canadian stakeholders, and have the review done by an independent board separate from the government.They wish that the review be conducted with in an appropriate time frame that allows for robust consultations and proper work, but without any delays. .They also highlight the importance of transparency — "All written submissions, transcripts from meetings, working documents and other information should be published promptly via a central, bilingual review portal, based on the principle that no one should be entitled to conduct advocacy towards government in secret, subject only to the protection of personal data, as relevant."In a press release earlier this month, Toby Mendel, founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, stated that nothing in successive reviews has been fixed. The 2020 report was released two years after the review was first conducted.It stated that it would increase the timeliness of requests, address challenges, and use digital innovation and data information to manage and improve services. .It claims the greatest grievance in the 2020 report was ATI's poor compliance with the law.Mendel also mentioned that Canada's current Right to Information ranking is 53 out of 140 countries. In a closing statement to the press, Mendel addressed the Prime Minister: "Some things are not for sale, and Canada is not for sale. Neither is its democracy or the accountability. Secrecy is a fraud on accountability. Let's work together to build strong, free and democratic Canada which is ultimately what is needed to resist the external shocks we are currently facing.”
