News

OTTAWA, ON, Feb 1, 2022 - Indigenous Services Canada has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the federal category. 

The Centre for Free Expression has issued a final public call for nominations for the Peter Bryce Prize which honours individuals who serve the greater good by courageously speaking up about wrongdoing and abuses of public trust. Nominations are due by Friday, January 14, 2022. The nomination form is available here.

Babs Kelly, Director of Learning and Development at the British Columbia Library Trustees Association, is joining the Centre for Free Expression’s Working Group on Intellectual Freedom.

  Politicians and parties all claim to support openness and transparency, but how many really do? One test of commitment to open government is the parties’ election platforms. Fourteen organizations that promote transparency, united under the Right to Information Alliance Canada (RTIAC), sent questions on this vital issue to six parties fielding candidates in the Sept. 20 federal election. These organizations include journalists, environmentalists, Indigenous and human-rights groups. 

The Supreme Court of Canada has granted the Centre for Free Expression leave to intervene in its consideration of an important upcoming case regarding public interest standing, the right of a person or organization to bring a case despite their lack of direct involvement in the matter, or any infringement of their personal rights.

Canada’s Access to Information Act was adopted more than 35 years ago and has aged badly. Despite numerous calls for substantial reforms to the legislation, many formal reviews and consultations, and various amendments to the Act, changes have been little more than cosmetic. As a result, Canadians have been denied the access to information so important for a healthy democracy.