Two new lawsuits filed by the Information Commissioner against the Defence Minister for failure to disclose records
Canada’s information watchdog has initiated two new lawsuits against Defence Minister Bill Blair last week due to his department’s failure to release internal records.
Both lawsuits were filed in Federal Court on Feb. 20 and are related to the department’s lack of response to access-to-information requests.
The Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) had looked into two complaints of non-compliance in providing records and subsequently instructed DND to comply.
After the department failed to act, the OIC instructed the minister last fall to furnish the requested documents. The lack of response prompted the commissioner to file the lawsuits.
“The Minister’s ongoing violation of his legal duty to implement the Commissioner’s binding Order issued under the [Access to Information] Act is contrary to the law,” stated both claims from the OIC.
One of the access-to-information requests related to the lawsuit aims to obtain three documents from the Directorate of History and Heritage, including a 1961 record on “Soviet Sea-power.”
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The other request is seeking documents from 2003 evaluating the “implications of a new Canadian deployment to Afghanistan on Canada’s capability to participate in an invasion of Iraq.” Canada stayed over a decade in Afghanistan but didn’t participate in the Iraq War.
‘Extraordinary Recourse’
Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard appeared before the House of Commons defense committee on Feb. 26 as part of its examination on the transparency of DND and discussed the legal actions.
She mentioned that resorting to filing lawsuits was an “extraordinary recourse” and should not be necessary to obtain the production of documents.
“It raises doubts about my authority, and more importantly, the credibility of the access-to-information system of the federal government,” she informed MPs.
Conservative Party MP and defense critic James Bezan inquired with Ms. Maynard about the transparency issues within the department, stating he has been waiting for years to receive responses to his own access-to-information requests.
Ms. Maynard responded that various factors, such as information management, culture, resources, and leadership, can impact a department’s ability to respond. “Often the leadership has an impact as well,” she added.
Liberal MP Darren Fisher also expressed frustration with the transparency matter in DND and suggested that improvements are necessary within the government.
Defence Minister Blair testified before the committee on Feb. 12 and acknowledged that his department must enhance its transparency, emphasizing that transparency is “fundamental to our democracy.”
He noted that DND received 2,241 new access-to-information requests during the financial year 2022-2023 and that 61 percent were closed within the legislative timelines. Mr. Blair stated that the closing time had increased from the previous year, illustrating a “general upward trend.”
While recognizing that DND and the Canadian Armed Forces handle sensitive information as large organizations, he emphasized that “there’s never an excuse for failing to meet our legal requirements” and that he did not attend the hearing to offer excuses.
