Annual Report - FY 2004/2005

Ottawa, Ontario

[2005-6-6]

Canada’s Information Commissioner, the Honourable John M. Reid, P.C., today tabled in Parliament, and made public, his annual report for the 2004-2005 fiscal year

This report marks the end of Mr. Reid’s seven-year term of service. Looking back over the past seven years, the report describes the "good news" and "bad news" in delivering the rights set out in the Access to Information Act. According to Mr. Reid: "the clear lesson of these seven years is that governments continue to distrust and resist the Access to Information Act and the oversight of the Information Commissioner."

On the positive side, the report refers to the Federal Court’s support for the Commissioner’s powers, the creation of a new Parliamentary Committee to oversee access, privacy and ethics, the reduction in delays in the system, the improvement in records management practices and the beginnings of professional information rights education and training.

On the negative side, the report refers to the anti-openness provisions of the Anti-terrorism Act and the Whistleblower Bill, the failure of the Minister of Justice to bring forward a bill to reform the Access Act and the failure of the government to provide adequate resources to the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Commissioner Reid urges users, the media, academics, the judiciary, Information Commissioners and Members of Parliament to be vigilant and to resist the very real pressures from governments to take back from citizens the power to control what and when information will be disclosed.

The report is available upon request from the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada at (613) 995-2410, or 1 (800) 267-0441, and on this website.