Nova Scotia’s not too long ago departed privateness commissioner stays hopeful the provincial authorities will give her successor the facility and sources they should guarantee residents can entry public information.
The commissioner evaluations complaints from residents who’ve been denied entry to paperwork and different information by authorities departments and companies.
However Tricia Ralph says too many public our bodies have defied her choices, leaving residents with the expensive possibility of going to court docket to get the data.
Get breaking Nationwide information
For information impacting Canada and world wide, join breaking information alerts delivered on to you after they occur.
The 43-year-old lawyer says giving her workplace order-making energy — below which the onus could be on authorities companies to bear the price of going to court docket to enchantment her choices — is the important thing authorized reform wanted.
Premier Tim Houston promised in 2021 to offer the commissioner’s workplace order-making energy however has since reversed course.
Ralph additionally says it’s crucial the Progressive Conservative authorities improve the variety of freedom of knowledge investigators to keep away from listening to backlogs, which have pushed wait instances to about 4 years in some instances.
Nova Scotia’s present freedom of knowledge regulation, final revised greater than 25 years in the past, requires “full public accountability” by allowing folks to request paperwork from public our bodies and requiring these departments to fulfil requests, with restricted exceptions.
Ralph says she’s hopeful that an inner assessment of the laws by authorities officers will enhance the act, however she stays involved that course of has been behind closed doorways and overseen solely by civil servants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first printed March 3, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
Source link