OTTAWA – Canada’s current information laws make it difficult to ensure that political staff members are held responsible for their actions, the nation’s information watchdog said in a report released Monday on an incident that led to the RCMP being called in to investigate a former Conservative staffer.
Last week, Public Works and Government Services Minister Rona Ambrose said that she was following Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault’s recommendations when she asked her department to contact the RCMP to investigate former aide Sebastien Togneri.
Togneri, who worked for Ambrose’s predecessor Christian Paradis, had asked department officials to "unrelease" documents that had been requested by The Canadian Press. Under the Access to Information Act, members of the public can pay $5 to seek a government file from department reports, briefing notes and other documents.
Togneri kept his job with Paradis after the minister moved to natural resources, but he resigned last September after reports that he had allegedly interfered with at least four other access-to-information files through a "purple file" process. Some requests for information are moved to the "purple file" if information released could be embarrassing or sensitive, Legault said in her report.
"Our government expects all public servants and political aides to abide by the Access to Information Act. My direction to implement the commissioner’s recommendations will help ensure that this is the case going forward," Ambrose had said in a statement when she announced that she had referred the incident to the RCMP.
Legault’s report on her investigation also offered recommendations including improvements in training and awareness for employees who process information requests, but she noted that her examination revealed a "significant" limitation in the act.
"The law was drafted such that it is very difficult to ensure that political staff members are held accountable for interference with the act. In particular, the confidentiality provisions of the act make it impossible for the commissioner to directly refer matters of interference involving political staff members to law enforcement agencies for investigation and possible criminal prosecution," she said in a statement. According to Legault’s report, procedural limitations bar her from releasing information to the RCMP. She can disclose information to the Attorney General of Canada, though.
Legault has recommended a review of certain sections of the act so that she can react and resolve cases "appropriately."
The commissioner will publish two more reports that will touch on allegations of interference in a broader context at Public Works and interference as a systemic issue causing delays.
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