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Freedom of Expression and the Public's Right to Know

Genuine democracy, advancement of knowledge, individual self-development, and social justice depend on a society in which freedom of expression and the right to know are a reality for everyone. The Centre for Free Expression works to advance these rights through public education, advocacy, law reform, research, advisory services, policy analysis, assistance to courts, and organizational collaborations.

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Page June 2, 2026

The Centre for Free Expression Podcast

Democracy is an ongoing public discussion about what is legitimate in our society—and what is not. That conversation doesn’t belong to any one group, and it cannot be settled once and for all. Democracy prospers when everyone has the right and opportunity to be informed and to participate in public discourse.

News July 2, 2026

No Mona Lisas here: Thames Valley school board wins Code of Silence Award over secret art collection

An Ontario school board that refused to release information on its small art collection because of supposed safety concerns has been selected as the municipal winner of the 2025 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy.

Access-to-Information

Blog July 2, 2026

Misinformation alert: reducing corruption improves productivity and well-being, not the reverse

In a recent opinion piece in the Toronto Star, staff journalist Justin Ling argues that to improve productivity, Canada needs to tolerate more corruption. This is nonsense – in fact the reverse is true. As he says, simply creating more bureaucracy in response to each scandal doesn’t work.

David Hutton

Whistleblower Protection

News June 25, 2026

A blanket smother-up: Alberta government wins secrecy award for opaque access-to-information process

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government has been selected as the provincial winner of the 2025 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy after Alberta’s information and privacy commissioner found the province broke its own freedom of information laws.

Access-to-Information

News June 22, 2026

Canada’s federal government – Worst again

Canada’s federal government has once again been selected as this year’s recipient of the federal Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievements in Government Secrecy after statistics showed federal institutions delivered the worst on-time performance ever for timely response to access to information requests in 2024-2025.

Access-to-Information

Blog June 19, 2026

While We Watch the U.S., Canada’s Democracy Is Quietly Eroding

With the precipitous decline of democracy in the United States, it is all too easy to ignore that Canada’s democracy is in decline as well. We ignore the signs at our peril.

James L Turk

Freedom of Expression & Its Limits, Censorship