Employees of the Government of Canada must file their own Access To Information requests to retrieve records, says the largest federal public service union. The Public Service Alliance in a submission to Parliament said documents should be made public as a matter of course, noting the secretive nature of the federal government..“The Access To Information process has become a key method for the union to receive information central to its labour relations, representations and negotiations responsibilities,” the Alliance wrote in a petition to the Commons ethics committee, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“We are concerned over the employer’s reliance on the Act as a means to avoid its legal obligations to produce documents relevant to bargaining and grievance processes in particular.”.The parliamentary committee is conducting a statutory review of the 1983 Act. The Public Service Alliance said the law should be rewritten to mandate disclosure of contracts with federal suppliers “unless it can be shown such a release will cause undue harm to Canada or to the public interest or the well-being or safety of individuals directly impacted by the release,” said the union. “‘Well-being of individuals’ does not include profits or the like for corporate shareholders.”.The Canadian Labour Congress also petitioned MPs to write a “public interest” clause into the Act to waive ordinary confidentiality “if it is in the public interest to do so.” The Congress said disclosure should be extended to private contractors “that deliver substantial public programs, services or functions.” Parliament in 2006 passed the Federal Accountability Act that expanded disclosure to Crown corporations like the CBC..Witnesses at parliamentary committees have called the current Access To Information system dysfunctional. “It is on the brink of being unable to be fixed,” Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard said at 2021 hearings of the House of Commons government operations committee..“COVID is just one more excuse,” said Maynard. “The right of access, a quasi-constitutional right, cannot be suspended because of the pandemic. Government transparency is the foundation of a strong democracy and has never been more important than during this crisis.”.Maynard cited “inadequate leadership and a lack of clear guidelines on transparency and disclosure.” The Commissioner in an earlier report Observations And Recommendations said the system “had already entered a critical phase before the pandemic and could soon be beyond repair.”.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has defended the current system. “We’ve done more on transparency and openness than previous governments,” Trudeau told reporters on February 5, 2021. The Prime Minister said he welcomed efforts “to shine light on what government is doing.”
