Abstract

A large majority of Canada's federal, provincial, territorial, and local governments are now required to comply with freedom of information (FOI) laws. Some critics have argued that long-standing problems of non-compliance have been aggravated during the recent period of public sector retrenchment. However, good evidence of non-compliance has been lacking. In this study, statistical reports produced by government institutions are used to assess recent trends in the administration of the federal Access to Information Act and Ontario's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Limited data is also used to study British Columbia's FOI law. Data suggests that policy decisions in these three jurisdictions have lead to a weakening of FOI laws. Three reforms are proposed: Better reporting by departments and agencies on their handling of FOI requests; a change in the enforcement strategy traditionally used by federal and provincial Information Commissioners; and a reconsideration of methods used to levy fees on individuals and organizations who make FOI requests.