Thanks for taking the time to comment, Pat. I am fully aware of your important contributions to, and support of, access to information. You spoke eloquently, and we in the trenches appreciated having an ally in you. Sir Humphrey, as usual, was brutally insightful. Reform will be tough, but I live in hope.
In my capacity as a government lawyer, I had the opportunity to meet Inger Hansen several times. I found her thoughtful, committed and generous. I had nothing but respect for her. Gregory Tardi.
Some very good Information Commissioners have had a near impossible task with such a flawed piece of legislation. John Reid proposed a comprehensive reform that would have greatly helped the public’s right to know, and we crafted a whole rewrite of the Act based on his work as a condition of supporting Harper’s Federal Accountability Act. At the last minute, that whole chapter was pulled out.
It seems freedom of information is not nearly so attractive to the ruling party.
As Sir Humphrey famously advised in the British comedy Yes Minister, “You can have good government and you can have open government, but Prine Minister, you cannot have both!”
Thanks for taking the time to comment, Pat. I am fully aware of your important contributions to, and support of, access to information. You spoke eloquently, and we in the trenches appreciated having an ally in you. Sir Humphrey, as usual, was brutally insightful. Reform will be tough, but I live in hope.
In my capacity as a government lawyer, I had the opportunity to meet Inger Hansen several times. I found her thoughtful, committed and generous. I had nothing but respect for her. Gregory Tardi.
Thanks for sharing this, Gregory - she was a first-class public servant.
Dean
Thanks Dean for this excellent tribute to a reflective and courageous public servant.
Thanks, Paul!
Some very good Information Commissioners have had a near impossible task with such a flawed piece of legislation. John Reid proposed a comprehensive reform that would have greatly helped the public’s right to know, and we crafted a whole rewrite of the Act based on his work as a condition of supporting Harper’s Federal Accountability Act. At the last minute, that whole chapter was pulled out.
It seems freedom of information is not nearly so attractive to the ruling party.
As Sir Humphrey famously advised in the British comedy Yes Minister, “You can have good government and you can have open government, but Prine Minister, you cannot have both!”