Funding defended

Premier Stephen McNeil says he believes the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia receives an adequate budget, despite a significant backlog in dealing with reviews of decisions under freedom of information legislation.

McNeil made the comment during a post-cabinet conference call and scrum with reporters Wednesday.

“We believe we are,” he said, when asked if the government is giving the office enough money to serve the public in a timely manner. “We’re giving … the office enough money to able to meet the obligations, we know the FOIPOPs that come in, roughly 70-80 per cent of them are met in the timeline that’s there.”

When someone applies for a review of a decision made regarding a request under provincial freedom of information and protection of privacy legislation — the legislation covers provincial and municipal governments and bodies such as the Nova Scotia Health Authority — they are advised that there is at least a 12to 18-month backlog in having the review dealt with, although efforts are underway to reduce that period.

In the case of a review filed by the Cape Breton Post on Aug. 17, 2017, the matter has not yet been assigned to an investigator.

When pressed about the backlog, McNeil said he doesn’t know the specifics, but individual cases may require additional time.

“We’ll continue to work to make sure that we get our FOIPOPs out and continue to make sure that we continue to improve the process,” he said.

McNeil said he believes the commissioner’s office has an appropriate amount of power.