N.S. election: Liberals only commit to reviewing weak powers of information czar
Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Iain Rankin is only committing to review the weak powers of the province's information commissioner but his rivals are promising to give her office some legal teeth.
Advocates for freedom of information have long argued the authority of the commissioner's office is too weak because it lacks so-called "order-making powers."
Those powers would force the public agency to contest the commissioner's decisions in court instead of that burden falling on citizens.
Applicants have had to go though complex and expensive court proceedings in recent years to enforce decisions to release public information.
The NDP and the Progressive Conservatives say that if they are elected in the Aug. 17 election, they will make information commissioner Tricia Ralph an independent officer of the legislature with order-making powers.
Rankin, however, promised Friday to having his justice minister review and modernize the legislation on public information.
Former Liberal premier Stephen McNeil in 2013 had promised to grant the commissioner order-making powers but never fulfilled that pledge, calling it a "mistake."
Rankin said if elected, he's committed to having more "up-to-date legislation that allows easier access to public information."
"What I committed to, which is in the mandate letter to (Justice Minister Randy Delorey), is a full, comprehensive review to legislation that hasn't been amended in decades," he told reporters.
"The review will come out with specific recommendations and we'll accept every one of them."
Tory Leader Tim Houston has tied the issue to an alleged lack of Liberal transparency. He said the Liberal government -- unlike other provincial governments -- hasn't found a way to allow the legislature to sit during the pandemic or to allow the public accounts committee to fully operate during the health crisis.
"All of these things are stains on this government because they all undercut democracy and every time you undercut democracy you turn people off from democracy," Houston told reporters last week. "People think, 'It just doesn't matter."'
"A Progressive Conservative government is one that will have the courage to be held accountable by the people," he added. "It is one that will be transparent. That means giving order-making ability to the commissioner."
NDP Leader Gary Burrill says his party would be different from the Liberals on the issue of access to public information.
"We believe in this," he said in an interview on July 26 with The Canadian Press. "We've been saying for a long time that the freedom of information officer should be an officer of the house and that they should have the capacity to make their rulings stick."
In April, a research group studying how jails and federal prisons across the country handled the COVID-19 pandemic singled out Nova Scotia for the poor response of its access to information system.
University of Winnipeg researcher Kevin Walby noted that the projected fees in the province were close to 20 times higher than those in Ontario regarding requests for materials ranging from manuals and policy directives to requests for statistics on prisoner grievances.
Faced with tens of thousands of dollars in fees, Walby abandoned the request in Nova Scotia. He said at the time that even if he would have been successful in obtaining the information about the province's prisons, he might have had to go to court to enforce the decision.
Information commissioner Ralph said at the time that Walby's request would have had to wait "upward of three years" before her office could have dealt with it because of limited resources.
In June 2017, Ralph's predecessor, Catherine Tully, had called for reforms, including to make her position into an independent officer of the legislature, which would have given her office security of tenure and an easier time with budget requests.
She noted at the time Nova Scotia was the only province not to allow its information commissioner that kind of independence. Tully had also argued for order-making powers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 2, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.