(March 2026)

Freedom of information / access to information laws across Canada set out key rules for transparency of government institutions and public officials.  However, the laws across Canada have so many secrecy loopholes in them, and are so weakly enforced (especially given there are no penalties for violating the laws), that they really should be called the “guide to keeping information secret that the public has a right to know” laws.

Democracy Watch calls on all political parties at the federal level, and in every province and territory to work together to enact the 17 key changes set out below to make their freedom of information laws effective, and enforcement of the laws independent, timely, transparent, effective and accountable, and to ensure adequate training and resources to ensure their open government system operates effectively.

Key changes are needed to convert all exclusions in the laws into exemptions, and to narrow the scope of all exemptions and limit them with a proof of harm test and a public interest override, and to ensure the enforcement system is fully independent of the Cabinet, fully resourced, timely, transparent, effective and accountable, and to ensure training of all public and government officials concerning how to create and maintain records to ensure the public’s right to know is always respected and upheld, and to ensure penalties for violations of the laws (as it has become very clear that a main reason the laws are routinely and regularly violated is because there are no penalties for violations).

A. Key Changes Needed to Ensure the Freedom of Information Law Requires Timely, Low-Cost Disclosure of Information the Public Has a Right to Know

1. The freedom of information law (FOI law) should be changed to cover fully every “public institution” – meaning any entity which forms part of any branch of government, or which is established by or under the Constitution or a statute, or which is owned or controlled by another public institution, or has core operations substantially financed by a public institution, or which carries out a statutory or public function.

2. The FOI law should be changed to require every public institution to create detailed records of the process and reasons for all decisions and actions taken, including background factual and policy research (i.e. there must be a duty to document), and to retain and maintain those records, no matter how the records are created and no matter what type of device the records are created on, to ensure the public has access to the full record of each decision and action.

3. The FOI law should be changed to require every public institution to disclose records that are likely to be of public interest routinely and regularly, including online in a searchable database and in a machine-readable format.

4. The FOI law should be changed to require public institutions to respond to access requests “as soon as possible”.  An extension of the 30-day initial time limit for responding should require the permission of the Information Commissioner and should be limited to a maximum of an additional 60 days.

5. The exceptions to the right of access in the FOI law should be clearly and narrowly defined and limited to the areas in which secrecy is required in the public interest.  In particular:

a) The frequently abused Cabinet advice and Cabinet confidence secrecy exemptions in the FOI law should be changed by restricting the application of the exemptions to only the part of any record that actually contains advice or recommendations (in other words, all facts, statistics, policy options and proposals should be obtainable through an FOI law request;

b) All officers of the legislature, and all law enforcement entities, agencies, boards, commissions and tribunals, and the heads of government institutions, should be required to to disclose investigation records after each investigation is completed.

6. All exceptions in the FOI law should be strictly limited by a proof of harm test and a public interest override, and this condition should also be imposed on exceptions set out in other laws listed in any part or regulation listed in the FOI law.  All exceptions which protect the public interest should be subject to sunset clauses of maximum 20 years (and less than that for Cabinet records).

7. The FOI law should be changed to allow anyone who does factual or policy research for the government in an area not covered by an exception to speak to the media and publicly about the topic, findings and conclusions of their research without being required to seek approval first from anyone (including their superior, the Privy Council, the Prime Minister, a Cabinet minister, or any ministerial staff person).

8. The FOI law should be changed to remove the current restrictions on who may make an access request so that everyone, regardless of citizenship or residence, can make a request.

9. The FOI law should be changed to prohibit charging an application fee for filing an access request, and to prohibit charging search fees for records that have not been maintained in a way that facilitates access.

B. Key Changes Needed to Ensure Independent, Timely, Transparent, Effective and Accountable Enforcement of the FOI law

10. The FOI law should be changed to give the person/entity that enforces the law explicit powers to require systemic changes in government institutions to improve compliance with laws requirements, including requiring systemic changes to ensure records are managed effectively to facilitate public disclosure.

11. The FOI law should be changed to empower and require the person/entity that enforces the law to impose a sliding scale of mandatory minimum fines and unpaid suspensions as penalties for intentionally obstructing access, including by not creating records, not maintaining records properly or delaying disclosure, with loss of job and pension as the mandatory penalty for the most serious violations.  The penalties should include, for government officials that attempt to escape a penalty by resigning or retiring, loss or partial clawback of any severance payment and/or partial clawback of any pension payments.

12. The FOI law should be changed to require the person/entity that enforces thel aw to issue a public ruling published on a searchable website for every complaint they receive, and every situation they review, and the public must have a clear right in the FOI law to appeal any decision in court.

13. The FOI law should be changed to establish a fully independent, non-partisan appointments commission (with members, appointed by non-governmental organizations like the Canadian Judicial Council, serving fixed terms of office) to conduct a merit-based search for nominees for person who heads up the entity that enforces the law, and to nominate a single qualified candidate for approval by an all-party committee of the legislature.

14. If a fully independent appointments commission is established as recommended above, the commission should also have the power to decide if the person who heads up the entity that enforces the law will be reappointed for another term.  If the commission is not established, the FOI law should be changed to make that person ineligible for a renewal of their first fixed term in office (to ensure that they do not make decisions, especially during the last couple of years of their term, to try to get reappointed for another term).

C. Key Changes to Ensure Adequate Resources for an Effective Open Government System

15. The FOI law should be changed to require the legislature to provide annual funding to the person/entity that enforces the law based on the budget presented by that entity and an assessment by the Auditor General of the funding needed to ensure effective, timely enforcement of the FOI law, effective training, and effective promotion of the right of access.

16. The FOI law should be changed to require a set amount of regular training by the office of the entity that enforces the law for all federal politicians, staff, appointees and government employees concerning the requirements in the FOI law and best-practice information and record management systems.

17. The FOI law should be changed to expand the mandate and budget of office of the entity that enforces the law to include promotion of the right of access and public awareness activities.