OTTAWA - The federal information watchdog is worried that cabinet ministers could be avoiding public scrutiny by using personal email to conduct government business.Suzanne Legault refused Thursday to comment directly on the case of Treasury Board President Tony Clement. He's been accused by opposition parties of using his personal email account to hide his role in doling out federal G8 largesse in his riding.
But the information commissioner said she's concerned in general that there's little she can do to ensure ministers don't intermingle government files, which are covered by the Access to Information Act, with personal files, which are not.
She said her powers to verify that ministers are acting properly have been "definitely hampered" by a Supreme Court ruling handed down last May.
"We will see how it unfolds. But yes, I am worried," Legault said in an interview.
"Certainly, if somebody wanted to avoid being subject to Access to Information, they probably could, given the state of technology."