FREDERICTON — Experts on government transparency are hoping a review of New Brunswick's right-to-information law — ranked as one of the worst in Canada — makes it easier for the public to access documents and records.
The Liberal government has asked for public submissions on its election promise to modernize legislation governing the public's right to obtain information from provincial departments and agencies.
The Centre for Law and Democracy last year ranked New Brunswick's freedom-to-information system as one of the two worst in Canada, along with Alberta's.
Residents who are denied access to a government document or record can appeal to New Brunswick's information commissioner.
But Toby Mendel, director of the law and democracy centre, said in an interview Tuesday a key weakness is that the information commissioner can only recommend that a department or agency release information. Citizens are then forced into expensive court proceedings when governments don't comply.
Mendel said he hopes New Brunswick will consider an appeal system like Newfoundland and Labrador's, where the onus is on departments and agencies to go to court if they wish to reject the commissioner's recommendations.
"In Newfoundland and Labrador, when the commissioner makes a decision, the public body either has to follow that decision or go to court to contest it … We believe it is a good model for small jurisdictions like New Brunswick," Mendel said.
The Newfoundland and Labrador model is mentioned in New Brunswick's discussion paper on its existing information legislation. The paper provides questions for the Liberal government to consider, including if some of the exemptions that departments can use to refuse document requests need to be dropped or revised.
The law and democracy centre says exemptions are too numerous and too broad. "We see a lot of exceptions (to releasing information) that are on the face of it illegitimate," Mendel said.
Provincial Ombud Marie-France Pelletier, who investigates access complaints, emphasized the need for a mechanism where public bodies must follow recommendations made by her office or face court action, similar to the Newfoundland model.
Pelletier said she was encouraged to see it in the consultation paper and called it a good first step.
She said being required to respond to recommendations made by the Ombud after a request for access to information has been denied would force public bodies to take "some ownership."
"Most of them do. That's the good news," she said. But when they don't, one time is too, too much, in my view, and so they should be accountable for why they are not abiding by the recommendations."
Some of her other suggestions include changes to the law protecting information related to legal affairs in the attorney general's office and accessing documents emanating from the cabinet.
The wait period to access cabinet documents is 15 years, she said. "But on top of it being 15 years, they can only be accessed if the cabinet agrees to them being released."
Pelletier said one of the positive things about New Brunswick's right to information process is that it is still free of charge and she hopes it will remain that way.
New Brunswick's Green Leader David Coon says the province's Right to Information Act has "degenerated" over the past 15 years.
One of the more problematic changes to the law, Coon said, is the restriction that government records that include "advice" to a minister can no longer be requested by the public. For example, he said, the work that consultants do for government, or reports to departments, can be interpreted as "advice" to a minister.
That change, he said, "has been used extensively to keep lots of documents … a lot of reports, secret."
Nicole O'Byrne, an associate professor at University of New Brunswick's faculty of law, called the existing access to information system in New Brunswick "slow and cumbersome," adding that it can require months to appeal a decision.
Government departments and agencies are often swamped by broad requests for information, which can take long to process, she added. She also suggested that departments and agencies be proactive and release more information without the need for the public to make formal requests to access it.
O'Byrne commended the provincial government for its review. "Citizens have every right to demand accountability from their elected representatives. This is a fundamental cornerstone of our democracy."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2025.
— By Michael Tutton in Halifax and Hina Alam in Fredericton.
The Canadian Press
