Access-to-Information

More on our initiatives for
Improving Access to Information

Access to information is the right of the public to obtain information held by public bodies as well as an obligation for governments to ensure records are created, maintained, and made readily available. Access to information is essential for informed public discourse on which democracy depends. It not only facilitates developing effective solutions to societal problems but also empowers communities that have historically been marginalized and silenced.

Featured Blog Events
News June 13, 2023

Justice served in secret is a dangerous precedent: Quebec criminal court system under spotlight for holding ‘phantom trial’

Quebec’s criminal court system has been selected as the provincial winner of the 2022 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy after it was revealed to have held a secret trial involving a police informant, which was only later revealed in a judgment by the province’s court of appeal after the accused appealed their conviction. 
Access-to-Information
News May 17, 2023

Time’s up, game’s over: Toronto Police Service recognized with 2022 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievements in Government Secrecy

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) has been selected as the 2022 recipient of the Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy, in the law enforcement category, for its repeated efforts to block journalists from accessing information needed to hold tax-payer funded agencies accountable. 
Access-to-Information
Blog September 9, 2022

Playing Hide and Seek with Public Records

An Ontario Divisional Court decision on a six-year-old battle at York University about secrecy in university real estate projects was published on September 1, 2022. The decision in York University Development Corporation vs. Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario et al. ended a long game in which the University tried to hide records that were legally accessible to the public.
Mariana Valverde
Access-to-Information