Cabinet records less than 20 years old aren’t even covered by the act. The government also has unfettered authority to declare a document a cabinet confidence, without being subject to a second opinion by the information commissioner. The fix: a narrower definition, a shorter period of protection, at most five years, and independent review.

Routine delays in releasing information are absurd, often months or years, impoverishing public discourse. The act imposes no penalty for failing to meet the 30-day deadline set out in the law. The fix:
legislated sanctions, such as removing a department’s ability to invoke exemptions if it disregards deadlines. Or make the pay of deputy ministers and others contingent on upholding the law.

Excessive use of exemptions to withhold information, such as the notorious Section 21 which protects “advice” given to government without no clear definition of what that means. The fix: put an expiry date on exemptions, preventing their use on records older than, say, three years. Add an injury test to every exemption, compelling government to prove significant harm should a document become public.

The Act allows personal information about an individual to be withheld for 20 years after death, long past any reasonable concern about privacy. The fix: such information should be available immediately after death, such as in the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Government records are only haphazardly archived, often many decades after their creation, preventing Canadians from connecting with their country’s past. The fix: regular and automatic archiving after 20 years, with few exceptions.

Information about government activity has disappeared through failure, sometimes deliberate, to create a record of day-to-day operations and decisions. The fix: government should have a legal duty to document.