Mr. Speaker, it is pretty obvious by now that I am committed to advocating for more open and transparent government. With Right to Know Week being celebrated the week of September 25th to October 1st, and with international Right to Know Day being held on the 28th of September, I think it is appropriate to remind the government of its mandate commitment to increase transparency and accountability.

Mr. Speaker, international Right to Know Day originated in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2002 with 15 original countries signing on. Since then, the popularity and scope of Right to Know Day has grown immensely. In Canada, Right to Know celebrations have expanded into a week-long event coast to coast, and they even present awards in recognition of those who support access-to-information rights.

Mr. Speaker, I, for one, applaud this government's steps since it has developed its mandate to make transparency a priority, most evidently by creating a new portfolio with responsibility for these matters. However, most accomplishments in transparency have been symbolic rather than concrete.

In the spirit of Right to Know Week, I would like to see the Minister responsible for Public Engagement and Transparency commit to accomplishing a few concrete actions that will make a significant difference in the overall accountability of its government to Northerners and ensure the public's right to know is well enshrined in the policies and legislation of this government.

First and foremost, Mr. Speaker, let's make the municipal governments subject to Access to Information regulations. It's not acceptable in this day and age that a public government has no legal obligation to provide access to public records and to protect the personal information it collects; having limited resources is reason enough to be accountable to the citizens which they serve.

Next, let's make requirements for mandatory breach notifications where there has been a material breach of privacy or where a privacy breach puts an individual's information in jeopardy or exposure. Most jurisdictions are moving towards this, and we've already implemented it in our health sector, so let's expand upon it and make it applicable in all areas of the public sector and government.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, and most easily accomplished, let's allocate more resources to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The work is ever expanding, more so if this government takes my other recommendations into account, and more resources are going to be required to keep up with the workload.

Mr. Speaker, let's celebrate this upcoming Right to Know Week and implement some real changes in how we hold ourselves accountable to our citizens. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.