Opposition parties say Liberal openness bill falls short of promises

OTTAWA The Conservatives and NDP are coming out against the Trudeau government's new access to information bill, saying it falls short of Liberal promises to increase transparency.

Opposition MPs are assailing the Liberals for backpedalling on a campaign promise to fully apply the Access to Information Act to ministerial offices.

They also say the bill — introduced in June and debated Friday in the House of Commons — fails to narrow the many exemptions in the law that allow federal agencies to keep files under wraps.

The access act, which took effect in 1983, allows people who pay $5 to ask for everything from internal federal audits and meeting minutes to correspondence and studies.

The law has never been substantially revised, and is often criticized as slow, ineffective and out of date.

Government departments can black out requested records on grounds related to national security, legal privilege, policy advice, commercial secrets, federal-provincial relations and other areas. Records deemed to be federal cabinet secrets are completely off-limits for 20 years.

"The exemptions still exist," said Conservative MP Tom Kmiec. "They could have amended them, they could have diluted them, they could have removed some of them."

Information should be withheld under the law only when its release would truly hurt the government, said New Democrat MP Murray Rankin.

"The exemptions have to be narrow, and they have to be about injury," Rankin said. "You have to show that that would harm some government interest. They didn't do that."

The legislation proposes extending the law — though only in a limited way — to the offices of the prime minister, cabinet members, senators, MPs and administrative institutions that support Parliament and the courts.

These offices and institutions would not be required to answer access requests filed by individuals, which most agencies and departments must do. Rather, they would be legally bound to regularly release certain types of records, such as hospitality and travel expenses and contract information.

The bill doesn't measure up to promises the Liberals made during the election campaign, disappointing openness advocates, Kmiec said.

Treasury Board President Scott Brison has touted the government bill as the first substantial revision of the 34year-old act.

He pointed out Friday the Harper government broke its 2006 election promises to overhaul the access law.