No disinfectant like sunlight

Lest anybody think the Bush government is the only one in North America which tries to keep control over public information, Canada's freedom-of-information ombudsman, John Reid, points out some of the actions of the Canadian government:

(Proposed whistleblower legislation) contains an amendment to the access law that would allow the government to keep under wraps, for 20 years, information collected or compiled as a result of a whistleblower's report. It means the government could cloak in secrecy the identities of whistleblowers and accused persons as well as details of the allegations of wrongdoing, actions taken to investigate the accusations and any disciplinary decisions.

(A) provision in the Anti-Terrorism Act...allows the government to stop an investigation by the information commissioner into a federal refusal to disclose material considered sensitive to national security.

How has the ombudsman's work been rewarded?

Reid, whose staff investigates complaints from requesters, says his office has been denied the money to do its job properly. As a result, the median time to complete an investigation rose to almost 7.5 months in 2004-05 from about 5.5 months the previous year. Reid argues having the government hold the purse strings of his office compromises the commissioner's independence.

Let's hope that Reid's term is renewed, and that his work gets a bit more publicity as he works on draft legislation.