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.

Blog November 22, 2018

When is a Mayor Not a Mayor? Public vs. Private in Twitter Blocking

There’s been a ceasefire in the “legal Twitter war” between Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and three people who sued him for blocking them from his Twitter account. The three plaintiffs argued that in blocking them, Mayor Watson was violating their constitutional right to free expression.

Micheal Vonn

Access-to-Information

Blog March 19, 2018

Applying the Openness Principle to Administrative Tribunals

The Toronto Star has brought an application before the Ontario Superior Court asking for a declaration that the open court principle should apply to administrative tribunals – that their proceedings and records be public in the same way that court proceedings and records are public.

Abbas Kassam

Access-to-Information

Blog September 8, 2017

Mein Trumpf: From the New Deal to The Art of the Deal, and On to the Abyss?

In the final days of 2016, the small island nation of Cuba mourned the passing of a political giant. Meanwhile, next door, superpower America nervously welcomed as the latest occupant of its highest office a gigantic bigot. To be sure, Fidel Castro’s passing was not mourned but celebrated in Little Havana in Miami, while Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton was lamented by most of the Americans who voted in their federal election.

Len Findlay

Censorship, Disinformation, Access-to-Information