Canada’s information commissioner Suzanne Legault has found “a pattern of improper involvement” by three Conservative officials that “comprised” rights under the Access to Information Act.
The evidence of “systemic interference” with access to information requests warranted police investigation, she said, but the Public Works Minister chose not to pursue the matters, which date back to 2009.
Legault previously had investigated interference by a ministry staff member who later resigned. The investigation continued, resulting in a second report.
“These staffers inserted themselves in various ways into a process that was designed to be carried out in an objective manner by public servants,” Legault wrote in her report. “Consequently, the rights conferred under the Act were compromised.”
Ministerial staff members are not within the purview of the act, with the consequence that the commissioner is unable to disclose any information to the Attorney General of Canada.
See CBC report on the matter.
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