This is a table of over 6,500 Canadian and British Columbian news stories informed through Access to Information requests. You can sort and search the table by using any keyword or select one of ten pre-identified categories.
Transparency Spotlight shows the important role access to information plays in research and reporting to keep our institutions transparent and accountable. It catalogues the government decisions, municipal policies, university governance, police surveillance, provincial energy sector projects, national security, and other decisions and actions that were hidden until revealed through access to information requests. These stories empowered all of us to keep people and institutions accountable.
Journalists often make extensive use of transparency laws to go beyond official talking points and dig deeper into issues of public interest. Researchers and organizations also share the results of records requests with media outlets in order to inform a public conversation. The stories highlight the breadth of topics that can be explored through access to information, supplies inspiration for researchers interested in following up on earlier investigative work, and serves as a reminder of why we must act to defend and improve transparency laws through law reform.
FIPA has created this searchable resource based on a scan of access to information news. The original methodology for that scan is available here. Most were identified from Canadian Newsstream and the Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) databases available through public and university library websites.
FIPA is seeking contributors who can bring their insights to this collective living resource. We hope to collaborate with a successful applicant to maintain, develop and expand what is available. The deadline for applications is September 15th. For more information about this spotlight on transparency visit here. For info on the Transparency News Stories Request for Proposal view this PDF.
Click on one of the tiles below to view stories in a specific category or scroll down to use the search function to locate particular items of interest.