Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a summary of a report from the Standing Committee on Legislation on the legislative action paper on access to government.

The Standing Committee on Legislation has completed its review of Tabled Document 33-12(3), entitled Government Accountability: A Legislative Action Paper on Access to Government.

The legislative action paper proposed a unique design to increase public access to government decision-making, by combining right to information legislation with the creation of an ombudsman office for the Northwest Territories. During its review the Standing Committee on Legislation spent considerable time studying and discussing in detail the history of right to information on ombudsman concepts and the principles incorporated in the legislation of other Canadian jurisdictions. The committee commented on this study in detail

in its final report which is before committee Members. However, the committee proposes that for the purposes of our discussion in the committee of the whole, the comments of the standing committee will be presented in a summarized form. The full text of the report is before all Members and Members of the Standing Committee on Legislation are prepared to discuss these aspects in detail if other Members wish.

The standing committee met on several occasions during the Second Session of the 12th Assembly to consider the issues raised by the legislative action paper. In October, 1992, Members of the standing committee participated in a four day workshop on access to government principles. We invited representatives from legislatures and freedom of information and ombudsman offices in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

The standing committee also held public hearings on the legislative action paper in eight communities throughout the Northwest Territories from January 11 to 21, 1993. To achieve greater cost-effectiveness, the committee split into two sub-committees for the majority of its travel. One sub-committee conducted public hearings in Iqaluit, Pond Inlet and Rankin Inlet, and the other in Inuvik, Norman Wells and Hay River. The full committee then met to hold public hearings in Cambridge Bay and Yellowknife.

A number of individuals and organizations interested in the access to government proposal made verbal presentations before the standing committee, and the committee received several written briefs as well. The standing committee wishes to extend its appreciation to all those who made submissions on the legislative action paper. The comments and suggestions were thoughtful and of great assistance during the committee's deliberations.

The committee would also like to thank the local governments of each of the communities visited, as well as the Hay River Dene band for the tours and special functions hosted for the committee's benefit.

Throughout this report the Standing Committee on Legislation provides substantive direction on issues related to the content of perspective legislation as offered. The intent of the committee is to assist the Legislative Assembly to debate the key principles of the access to information and ombudsman concepts, and to provide guidance to the Minister in preparing the legislation.

Overview Of The Access To Government Legislation

The legislative action paper on access to government deals with two concepts proposed to increase the accessibility and accountability of the Government of the Northwest Territories to the people that it serves. The paper suggests that these concepts, right to information and the creation of an ombudsman, might be combined in one bill.

Right To Information

The purpose of right to information legislation generally is to provide a right of access by the public to information under the control of specified government bodies, such as government departments, boards, agencies, or municipal governments. Often, additional provisions protect the privacy of individuals by restricting the way in which government bodies collect, use and disclose personal information.

History Of Right To Information Legislation

The country having the longest experience with the principle of openness of government information is Sweden, which passed a law providing for public access to official documents in 1766. Finland adopted a similar law in 1951, the United States in 1966, and Denmark and Norway in 1970. Access to information legislation has now been adopted in over 15 countries.

The first Canadian right to government information statute was passed in Nova Scotia in 1977. At present, all jurisdictions except Prince Edward Island, Alberta and the Northwest Territories have right to information legislation.

Proponents of right to information legislation argue that open access to information makes it more possible for citizens to participate in the formulation of policy, and to hold governments accountable for past decisions and actions. In Canada, it has become generally accepted that if participation in government is to be meaningful, citizens must be fully informed of their government's activities, and that citizens should not be dependent upon the will of government to obtain this information.

During its consideration of the legislative action paper, the Standing Committee on Legislation reviewed the components of right to information legislation in other jurisdictions.

Access Components

The fundamental principle of right to information legislation is that members of the public are given a right to access information collected or prepared by their government.

It is also recognized certain types of information should be exempt from this general right, and should not be released to the public. In these cases, the legislation includes provisions to exempt the types of information for which people should not be able to exercise a right to access. All of the provinces with right to information, but one, use this statutory design.

Mandatory And Discretionary Exemptions

The right to information legislation of most Canadian jurisdictions contains a mixture of mandatory and discretionary exemptions, depending on the rationale for the exemption. When exemptions are mandatory, government bodies are required to refuse any request for access to that type of information. When exemptions are discretionary, the government body may release information subject to the exemption if it feels that no hard would be done.

Types Of Exemptions

The specific lists of exemptions from the public right of access to government information vary considerably from one jurisdiction to the next. However, certain general classes of information are protected from release to the public across the country. These typically include restrictions on the release of

personal information, commercial information that could harm third parties, and other types of information that might present a danger to individuals or to the government's ability to govern.

Overrides

Often, right to information legislation also often provides for the application of "overrides", allowing or requiring information that would otherwise be exempt to be disclosed in the interest of public health or safety.

Privacy Components

Of the jurisdictions which have enacted right to information legislation, four provinces deal exclusively with providing a right of access to government information. In the remaining jurisdictions, legislation also contains provisions for the protection of privacy. These statutes restrict the government in its collection, use and disclosure of personal information. At the federal level, privacy provisions have been enacted in a separate statute.

Jurisdictions which have not enacted comprehensive privacy legislation do provide some protection against the disclosure of personal information. Right to information legislation contains an exemption from the general obligation to grant access to the public when the information is personal information concerning another individual. However, other jurisdictions which have not enacted comprehensive provisions for the protection of privacy.

Review/Appeal Components

An individual who is denied access to government records may apply to have the decision of the government body reviewed. This application may be to the courts, to a judge, to an information commissioners, to an ombudsman established under separate legislation, or to a Minister, depending upon the statute.

Jurisdictions which have adopted an investigative approach to reviewing denials of access authorize the reviewing office, such as an ombudsman or information commissioner, to recommend government action to correct an improper denial of access. In this case, the government body would not be required to comply with the recommendations.

Other jurisdictions have adopted an adjudicative approach, where reviews of denials of access are conducted by a judge or information commissioner who may order the government body to grant access to the information, subject to any further available appeal.

I will now hand it back to the chairman, Mr. Chairman, to continue with the report of the Standing Committee on Legislation. Thank you.