Nova Scotia’s recently departed privacy commissioner remains hopeful the provincial government will give her successor the power and resources they need to ensure citizens can access public records.
The commissioner reviews complaints from citizens who have been denied access to documents and other records by government departments and agencies.
But Tricia Ralph says too many public bodies have defied her decisions, leaving citizens with the costly option of going to court to get the information.
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The 43-year-old lawyer says giving her office order-making power — under which the onus would be on government agencies to bear the cost of going to court to appeal her decisions — is the key legal reform needed.
Premier Tim Houston promised in 2021 to give the commissioner’s office order-making power but has since reversed course.
Ralph also says it’s critical the Progressive Conservative government increase the number of freedom of information investigators to avoid hearing backlogs, which have pushed wait times to about four years in some cases.
Nova Scotia’s current freedom of information law, last revised more than 25 years ago, calls for “full public accountability” by permitting people to request documents from public bodies and requiring those departments to fulfil requests, with limited exceptions.
Ralph says she’s hopeful that an internal review of the legislation by government officials will improve the act, but she remains concerned that process has been behind closed doors and overseen solely by civil servants.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 3, 2025.
