In violation of federal law, the Privy Council imposed a 38-year seal on confidential files from when Brian Mulroney was prime minister.. Privy Council Logo .“It’s easier to hide,” Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard earlier told MPs..In reply to Blacklock’s request for confidential 1987 minutes of prime minister Brian Mulroney’s cabinet, the Privy Council said no files would be released until Oct. 1, 2025, a 38-year seal..“An extension of up to 916 days beyond the 30-day statutory deadline is required,” wrote David Neilson, executive director of Access to Information with the Privy Council..Cabinet minutes are to be unsealed after 20 years under the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, and Canada Evidence Act..Previous cabinets deposited old records for public viewing at the national archives. The current Privy Council suspended the practice in 2018..“It’s always been very difficult to change the culture of government,” Maynard testified on March 7 at the Commons Ethics committee..“When it comes to Access to Information, we can undeniably see that it’s easier to hide or withhold information than to simply disclose it.”.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Maynard noted other G7 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, automatically unseal official secrets after a fixed period, regardless of whether anyone requests the documents..“Within 20 to 30 years of a document being produced, there is a declassification program,” said Maynard..“It’s a lot easier for people to access it,” said Maynard..“They don’t have to wait until somebody is asking through an Access to Information request. This would give historians, libraries and archives, and people who are looking into the history of Canada, especially for the national security documents, access to documents way faster and easier than having to wait for my office to do an investigation.”. Privy Council Office .Blacklock’s earlier spent years uncovering cabinet files dating from 1980 to 1984 in then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s last term..Records disclosed Trudeau drafted a bill to legalize marijuana but dropped it over cabinet objections..The elder Trudeau also sought a national lottery “in support of the Liberal Party” and feared the 1981 recession was “destroying the Party.”.Records also revealed Trudeau gave his cabinet just one hour to study the National Energy Program before it was introduced in Parliament — surprised ministers complained they couldn’t “get an adequate grasp of the details” — and then-finance minister Marc Lalonde considered Trudeau’s deficit spending to be reckless..“We have been walking a very narrow tightrope because the pitfalls on either side are very dangerous,” Lalonde told a confidential 1984 cabinet meeting..Lalonde said the deficit was “bad enough” but cautioned “bad as it is, it could easily become even worse.”
