Appearance before the Standing Committee on Ethics, Accountability & Privacy
December 9, 2010
Post Tagged with: "cairs"
Open Government: My Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Ethics, Accountability & Privacy
Information Commissioner Calls for Reinstatement of CAIRS
The Information Commissioner of Canada has called for the reinstatement of the CAIRS database, which provided access to past information requests. She notes rightly notes that the government could – and should – go much further than sites such as CAIRS.Info, which I launched a couple of years ago.
Open Government Moving in Parallel But Opposite Directions
Suzanne Legault, Canada’s Interim Information Commissioner, and Michael Mulley, a Montreal-based software programmer, may occupy different worlds, but my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes that last week both placed an important spotlight on open and transparent government.
Legault is responsible for administering the Access to Information Act and last week her office warned that inadequate resources and lengthy delays were causing enormous damage to access to information rights in Canada. Legault released a 154-page report that gave below average or failing grades to the majority of the 24 government departments she reviewed.
The implication of a broken access to information system extends to virtually every policy area. For example, Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada typically lead on policies involving broadcasting and new media. While Industry Canada received a solid "B" grade, handling a 93% increase in requests relatively smoothly, the first review for Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore’s department yielded an "F" grade.
CAIRS.Info: The Launch of a New Access-To-Information Site
Last year, the Government discontinued the operation of the CAIRS database, which was the leading source of information on access to information requests across all federal government departments. By searching CAIRS, Canadians could easily identify prior requests, thereby reducing taxpayer costs by reducing duplicative requests. For many years, Online Democracy […]
Bloc Private Members Bill Calls for Public Register of Access Requests
Bloc MP Carole Lavalee has introduced a private members bill that would require every government institution to maintain a public register of every record disclosed in response to an Access to Information Act request.
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