Government striving for ‘balance’ on federal transparency, prime minister says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says while he is committed to transparency in the federal government, being too forthcoming can hinder the government’s ability to wrestle with tough decisions.

In an interview with The Canadian Press, Trudeau defended the Liberal record on openness, pointing to the publication of ministerial mandate letters and efforts to make more data available through restoration of the long-form census.

Information commissioner Caroline Maynard has criticized the Trudeau government for failing to provide the resources that departments and agencies need to answer the steeply growing number of requests from the public under the Access to Information Act.

Liberal legislative changes to the decades-old law, a key accountability tool, were widely panned as timid and even a step backwards.

The government announced a fullscale review of the law last June, but has yet to tell Canadians how they can make their views known.

The prime minister said his commitment to transparency and openness “goes to the heart” of one of the responsibilities of any government.

He suggested the Liberals are faring better than some other administrations, saying there is “a division between governments that do believe in transparency and those who still do not.”

“But as we know, the functioning of government requires a combination of openness and accountability and transparency, and an ability to grapple with very difficult questions in a fulsome way.”

He cited the principle of cabinet secrecy that allows ministers to freely tell him exactly what they think without worrying they will be seen as out of step with the government should it decide to go another way on an issue.

A minister’s fear of being perceived as offside “actually weakens our ability to directly have very real deliberations about all the potential paths so we can choose the best one,” Trudeau said.

“There’s always going to be a balance on it.”