This article was originally published on Canada.com
By Cara Faith Zwibel, Director of the Fundamental Freedoms program
As we prepare to exercise our essential democratic right to vote on May 2, it is worth thinking about what it means to live in a democracy. It may mean many things to many people, but one thing is clear – democracy is seriously threatened when information is withheld from the people. The government lost Parliament’s confidence due to its unwillingness to share information about the cost of its proposals. In some ways, the government’s refusal to provide this information showed not only contempt for Parliament, but ironically, a lack of confidence in Parliament’s ability (and the ability of the Canadian people) to handle that information.
Ordinary Canadians are entitled to information about what our government is doing, what it proposes to do, and the short- and long-term impacts of those plans. Increasingly, however, Canadians are denied this information. This problem is not specific to the Harper government or the Conservative party. The federal Information Commissioner has repeatedly chastised government institutions for their poor access to information records, and in a recent study on the effectiveness of freedom of information laws in major Parliamentary democracies, Canada ranked last. Responses to requests for information are delayed, exemptions and exclusions under the legislation are overused, and there are serious allegations of political interference in the process of responding to “sensitive” requests. It is one thing for the government to ask us to trust its judgment about policy. It is quite another to deny us the information it usess to make those judgments. How are we expected to participate – to make informed choices – without information?
The most shocking example of the culture of secrecy is relevant to the place where we now find ourselves – in an election period. What powers does a caretaker government have in this period, and how are its powers limited? Apparently, the answers to these questions are contained in a government manual, but you and I aren’t allowed to see it. Without information about the limits on government, there can be no accountability in these limits are not respected. Canadians deserve ready access to this kind of foundational, constitutional instrument.
The current level of secrecy within our government is embarrassingly out of date. Democracies around the globe are undertaking open government initiatives, designed to sweep out the cobwebs, air out information, and get feedback and collaboration from members of the public. Canada is still just “studying” open government (by way of the Committee on Privacy, Access to Information and Ethics). It is time to move beyond studying the idea of open government, and time to take action to achieve it in reality. This election grew out of concerns about a lack of openness and transparency, so all parties should be putting forward platforms outlining the concrete steps that they would take to address those concerns. This election provides an ideal opportunity to demand that government’s doors are swung wide open and that they stay that way.
