Information Commissioner Pleads Poverty, Tory MPs Say Raise Fees.
Conservative MPs are proposing that the government raise user fees for access to information requests, charging businesses and journalists more money to help mitigate a series of budget cuts that have damaged the already-ailing system.
The comments from several government MPs at a House of Commons committee Thursday came in response to pleas of poverty from Suzanne Legault, the information commissioner of Canada.
Legault told MPs that a rapid 30 per cent rise in her workload, as well as a shrinking budget to help government fight the deficit, has left her office in “crisis,” with little choice but to cut the number of investigators who deal with complaints from requesters about withheld or delayed information.
“Last fiscal year, I faced a 30 per cent jump in new complaints, which has brought the organization to a crisis point,” she told the committee.
“Unless my budget is increased, I have only one option going into the next fiscal year … to cut the program.”
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