ETHI Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent de l'accès à l'information, de la protection des renseignements personnels et de l'éthique |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
The Standing Committee on Access to Information Privacy and Ethics presents a Report on the Information Commissioner's Report Cards (2008-2009)
Ottawa, March 07, 2011 -
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics released its 12th report today. This report follows-up on Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault’s report entitled Out of Time: 2008-2009 Report Cards: Systemic Issues Affecting Access to Information in Canada. Of the 24 federal institutions assessed by the Information Commissioner, 13 performed below average, and five received a failing grade of “F”. One institution, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, received a zero score and a “red alert” performance rating. In the fall of 2010, the Committee invited representatives from two departments that had received failing grades to appear for questioning about their performance. On 23 November 2010, the Committee heard evidence from representatives of the Department of the Environment. On 30 November, representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade appeared. Both departments expressed the specific challenges that they face in respect of their compliance with the Access to Information Act and shared with the Committee the actions taken to improve their performance since the Commissioner issued her report cards. The Committee was pleased to hear that both departments have taken actions to make improvements. However, the Committee remains concerned with the performance of departments who have received a failing grade, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, a department whose performance has been unsatisfactory for the past five years. Therefore, the Committee will continue to monitor the situation very closely. “The Committee hopes that this report will encourage those two departments and others to improve their performance in terms of their compliance with the Access to Information Act. Federal institutions that do not comply with federal legislation must be held to account. This Committee intends to do just that.” stated the Chair of the Committee, Shawn Murphy, P.C., M.P.
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