THE CANADIAN PRESS -- OTTAWA - Canada's information watchdog is renewing her call for modernization of the law that's supposed to give people access to federal files.In her annual report, Suzanne Legault says the 28-year-old Access to Information Act is out of touch with current practices and expectations.
Legault, Information Commissioner of Canada, plans to analyze the legislation's shortcomings to provide parliamentarians with a review of what needs fixing.
Among the innovations she'd like to see is a duty to document information so there is an official record of important decisions made on behalf of Canadians.
The access law gives those who pay $5 the right to request information held by government departments and agencies.
Requests are to be answered within 30 days, but Legault's report says just over half are completed within that time limit.
Changes to the act could speed up processing of requests and help ensure more information is released, she says.
The law allows agencies to withhold passages or entire pages that fall under exemptions related to national security, legal privilege, advice from officials and many other areas.
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Source: Huffington
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