Newspapers Canada released its 9th annual National Freedom of Information (FOI) Audit report on October 16, 2015. The 2015 audit reviews the performance of Canadian governments and various public institutions with respect to their access to information regimes. As such, it provides the public with the opportunity to see the degree to which our governments are in compliance with their own FOI legislation, as well as facilitating comparisons among jurisdictions.
“The audit represents an important tool for asserting the public’s right to access government information,” says John Hinds, CEO of Newspapers Canada. “The results of this audit show that we’ve still got a long way to go before we really have a culture of openness and accountability around government data.”
This year’s Newspapers Canada FOI audit tells the story not only of Newfoundland and Labrador’s success and Ottawa’s failure, but also of foot-dragging by police forces, and widespread resistance at all levels of government to releasing computer data in formats useful in the digital age.
As in previous years, the 2015 FOI audit was done in collaboration with Fred Vallance-Jones, associate professor of journalism at the University of King’s College, and his team. To obtain the data for the audit, a team of researchers requested the same information from the federal and provincial government, as well as a selection of municipalities across the country.
“I’ve been doing this study since 2008 and I keep hoping for the day when everyone gets an A and I can call it a day,” says Vallance-Jones. “Sadly, some are getting worse, and particularly troublesome is the worsening performance by the federal government.”
Click the links below to view the report and related materials.
2015 Freedom of Information Audit (PDF)
Appendix A (CSV)
Press Release (PDF)
Freedom of Information 2015 OP-ED (PDF)
If you have any questions about the 2015 Freedom of Information Audit, please contact:
John Hinds, Chief Executive Officer
Newspapers Canada
416-923-0858
jhinds@newspaperscanada.ca
Fred Vallance-Jones, Associate Professor
University of King’s College
902-880-5470
fvjones@gmail.com