Order making powers for the Information Commissioner

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    APA

    Open Government, Government of Canada. (2016, April 27). Order making powers for the Information Commissioner . Retrieved from http://open.canada.ca/en/content/order-making-powers-information-commissioner
    MLA

    “Order making powers for the Information Commissioner .” Open Government, Government of Canada, 27 April 2016, http://open.canada.ca/en/content/order-making-powers-information-commissioner
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Proposal

Give the Information Commissioner the power to order the release of government information.

Background

The Information Commissioner of Canada does not currently have the power to order the release of government information.

Under the Access to Information Act, the Information Commissioner plays the role of an ombudsperson, with powers to investigate complaints and make recommendations to government institutions.

If an institution does not follow the Commissioner's recommendation, the Commissioner can, with the consent of the requestor, apply to the Federal Court of Canada for review of the institution's refusal to disclose requested information.

The Federal Court can order the information to be released.

Commissioners in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec have the power to order the release of government information.

Internationally, some Westminster-style parliamentary democracies (such as Canada) use an ombudsperson model; others use an order-making model.

Some jurisdictions have combined order-making powers with the principle of ministerial responsibility. They do this by providing for a ministerial or Cabinet override of a Commissioner's order to release government information. In other models, the government can ask for review by a court if it disagrees with a Commissioner's order to release government information.

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Comments

Submitted by Annie on June 20, 2016 - 3:46 PM

Je suis totalement d'accord avec cette recommandation. A quoi sert la fonction si le poste n'a aucun pouvoir. Les organisations n'ont plus "peur" du commissaire si aucune sanction ou obligation n'est portée.

Submitted by Kathleen Martin on May 25, 2016 - 5:28 PM

The Information Commissioner of Canada should have order making powers. Without order making powers, the Commissioner is unable to fully enforce the Access to Information Act. There might as well not even be an Act if it does include order making powers.

Submitted by Anonymous on May 02, 2016 - 6:56 PM

I strongly endorse granting order-making powers to the Information Commissioner, as have most witnesses to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI). There should not be a ministerial or Cabinet override. Instead, if the government disagrees with an order, then a court should decide whether to uphold the order or not.