Executive Council
March 17, 2015
The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador:
Premier Provides Update on Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in this Honourable House to provide an update on how the Provincial Government is strengthening the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
On March 2, the Provincial Government received the ATIPPA review committee’s report and immediately began reviewing and analyzing the report and its recommendations. We are extremely grateful for the calibre of work we have received from the committee – and we know the next step now is for us to act on these recommendations and implement legislative change.
Mr. Speaker, feedback from the committee’s extensive outreach informed their report, which contains a total of 90 recommendations all of which we have accepted, including 67 which are legislative and 23 policy and procedural changes. The committee not only provided recommendations – but brand new draft legislation.
We want people to benefit from these recommendations as quickly as possible, and we are taking immediate steps – just like we did last week by eliminating the $5 application fee for access to information requests and updating the fee schedule. New actions we announced today include directing departments and public to report all privacy breaches to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and Office of Public Engagement, providing a toll-free helpline for municipal ATIPP coordinators, and protecting the identity of applicants during access to information requests.
Mr. Speaker, we take our obligations under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act very seriously. After listening to concerns – including those from Honourable Members opposite, and to those of experienced journalists, some of whom are here today – we have been striving for ways to improve access to information, transparency and to provide information in accessible ways.
Democracy requires citizen involvement. We want to become a world leader in engaging citizens, providing the information needed to make decisions and creating the best governance possible based on dialogue. I have every confidence that this review and its recommendations will provide residents with the strongest possible framework in access to information and protection of privacy.
Mr. Speaker, as we continue to work together to ensure that government is open and transparent for residents, and as we take on the challenge of managing an ever-increasing volume of information, we will be leaders, not followers, and we will continue to listen, to learn, and to adjust course.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
2015 03 17 1:50 p.m.