ACCESS TO INFORMATION NEEDS OVERHAUL, FORUM TOLD

Government systems and programs should be designed from the ground up to allow information to be — by default — readily available and accessible to the public, Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner said Thursday in Toronto.

No longer is it good enough to force people to file freedom-of-information requests to get data they want, said Ann Cavoukian.

“I don’t want people to go hunting and digging up things,” she told a session on open data. “Data should be free, open and transparent.” The panel session stressed the notion that government information belongs to the people, and therefore should be available to the public unless there are compelling reasons, such as privacy, to withhold it. Ready access to information makes for more responsive, efficient and participatory government, the panel noted.

Until fairly recently, however, citizens had to “pull” information from government data banks through formal access requests. Cavoukian called the access process “so arduous,” saying it’s time to move forward by designing systems that allow governments to “push” data to the public. The information should be machine readable and be free to use and reuse, she said. Other speakers noted the push for open data and open government is global, with the United Kingdom in the forefront and Canada lagging about two or three years behind. There is also a movement internationally to make access to information a human right, the forum heard. While pressing for more openness, Cavoukian stressed that any personal information the government collects has to be jealously guarded.