Is access to gov't info a constitutional right?

Is access to gov't info a constitutional right?

 
 

 
 

December 10, 2008

 
 

 
 

OTTAWA -- Should access to government information be elevated to a constitutional right? The Supreme Court of Canada, in a massive legal challenge Thursday that is drawing more than a dozen interveners, will consider whether access-to-information laws, which permit the public to see documents that the state seeks to keep secret, are so restrictive that they violate freedom of expression.

The Ontario government will try to keep the constitutional door closed, urging the court to consider that restricted access to government information "is part of our history and our constitutional tradition" and "the Canadian Charter was not intended to turn this state of affairs on its head."

The appeal reaches the court at a time when governments face growing criticism for being shrouded in secrecy amid toothless access laws, which are under fire for containing so many exemptions that they block the release of information.

"While everyone has a protected right to speak to government, including the right to request information, there is no correlative Charter right to an answer from government," an Ontario's legal brief outlined succinctly.

 

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