What is the Public's Right to Know?

Who knew that the last week in September is Right to Know week across Canada?
Until this year I had no clue that there is an international day designated to raise awareness about freedom of information laws, let alone that it is celebrated for a week in my own country.
While interviewing Saskatchewan's Information and Privacy Commissioner Gary Dickson, I heard a lot about the ideals of government transparency. He said the laws giving all citizens access to documents are an important tool to keep governments accountable for their actions. Naturally this job often falls to journalists to reveal issues the public has a right to know.
 I talked to Dan Zakreski ,an investigative journalist with CBC Saskatchewan to get a clearer picture of access to information legislation.
He told me that accessing information is a lot more complicated than it used to be. For example, reports on workplace fatalities used to be a phone call away, but now he has to submit a request form. This process can take a long time - a short commodity for journalists working on a deadline.
Describing a worst-case scenario, Zakreski said he has been waiting for two years to get the results of an Environment Canada report on a sewage spill in Saskatoon.
He thinks the tighter regulations are meant to give government officials tighter control over the release of information.
"No one ever got fired for NOT talking to a journalist," Zakreski noted.
Releasing information works the same way, every document must be approved.
This is something to consider the next time you wonder why a news article seems to be missing information. Journalists can always ask a question, but that doesn't mean the person they are talking to will give a complete answer.
To read my complete story, check out the online version of INK newspaper at www.jschool.ca.