Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau demonstrated commendable transparency in 2015 by publishing mandate letters addressed to his ministers. Quebec Prime Minister François Legault seems unwilling to be inspired while access to the documents he sends to his ministers remains impossible.
First of all, let us remember that letters of mandate are documents addressed to the new holders of a ministry in which the Prime Minister sets out his expectations and priorities that he wants to implement towards the person who has managed to be appointed to the Cabinet become.
Through their publication, citizens can better understand the goals and direction that guide a government’s mandate.
However, such transparency is not yet adequate in Quebec. Not only has the government shown no interest in publishing these documents, but it is also denying us access to them.
Reform requested
Following a request for access to information made under the Access to Documents of Public Bodies and Protection of Personal Data Act, we have today received confirmation that documents containing expectations of the Prime Minister will be distributed to Ministers .
However, we were refused access to these documents and were referred to Section 34 of the aforementioned Act, which states that a document made in the name of a Minister is not accessible unless this is the case.
This situation shows once again that the law on access to information is outdated. Reform is more than necessary to ensure government and administrative transparency.
For years, there have been barriers to citizens making requests for access to information. Redaction, prohibitive costs associated with requests, excessive use of additional response time, and complete lack of response are some of the common problems encountered.
Avoid drifting
However, it is clear that an update is long overdue as transparency plays an essential role in maintaining democracy within a society. It promotes the establishment of a healthy culture of government accountability to the people. Above all, because it contributes significantly to maintaining society’s trust in the state, which is the basis of every benevolent and democratic political and governmental system.
In this context, let’s think of Ontario, which is an excellent counterexample, where 1,672 man-hours were spent between 2018 and 2021 at taxpayer expense to keep Prime Minister Doug Ford’s mandate letters secret. This happened despite a simple request for information about the ministers’ 23 mandate letters, which was made by the government and rejected.
In this sense, the solution is simple to prevent such abuses, which only seriously undermine citizens’ trust in the government – which should nevertheless be transparent and accountable. A bill to reform access to information in Quebec needs to come into force sooner rather than later.
Photo provided by L’Orange bleue
Mathieu Santerre, President, L’Orange Bleue Public Affairs