Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston introduced Bill 1An Act Respecting Government Organization and Administration on February 18. Strong opposition followed from the Auditor General given amendments infringed on auditor independence. Swift public backlash saw Houston withdraw some proposed changes by February 24 while leaving many others.
Some of the changes that remain impact Nova Scotia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act . Analysis from the Centre for Law and Democracy highlight concerns regarding those impacts.
FIPA reached out to Tricia Ralph, Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia for comment and received the following statement. It is important to highlight that based on communications with the OIPC-NS Office, Commissioner Ralph is slated to end her term this Friday February 28.
From: Tricia Ralph, Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia Date: February 25, 2025 Re: Commissioner’s Statement regarding Bill 1
Today [February 25, 2025], Commissioner Ralph made a submission to the Law Amendments Committee in relation to Bill 1 and the proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPOP), Privacy Review Officer Act (PRO) and the Municipality Government Act, Part XX (MGA).
“Access to information is a quasi-constitutional right in Canada. Proposed amendments that could or would limit access to information rights must be drafted carefully and only following considerable and meaningful consultation,” says Commissioner Ralph.
Any time these Acts are amended, there is a risk of limiting access and privacy rights of Nova Scotians and diminishing government accountability. The amendments proposed in Bill 1 create such risks.
The Commissioner believes meaningful consultation with our office and all stakeholders in the access and privacy system will find a path forward that ensures Nova Scotians access and privacy rights are upheld, continues to hold government fully accountable and provides the OIPC and FOIPOP Administrators with the tools they need to effectively manage requests that amount to abuse of process.
The Commissioner requests that Bill 1 be withdrawn to allow for meaningful consultation with our office and with all stakeholders.
Additionally, the submission focuses on three elements of concern regarding the amendments:
a) Inconsistencies and gaps between the amendments and existing laws and regulations.
b) The expanded burden on applicants to identify records for the public body (sufficient particulars).
c) The frivolous and vexatious provisions are inconsistent with most laws across the country and in their current form, will unfairly limit access rights of all Nova Scotians.
“In my office’s view, there is a way for a compromise to be made such that there are provisions that enable an efficient and effective way to address requests that amount to an abuse of process or are too broad, that do not unduly restrict access to information rights. Moving forward now, without fulsome consultation, poses risk to the access rights of Nova Scotians” concludes Commissioner Ralph.
