The Canadian Newspaper Association thinks the sponsorship scandal is a prime reason why this country needs better FOI / ATI legislation. The group also proposes some changes.

An excerpt from The Canadian Press story carried on globeandmail.com:

The scandal, currently being investigated by the Gomery commission, is simply a "sordid soap opera" in which access to information laws were routinely flouted, the association said in a release yesterday.

The inquiry is looking into why up to $100-million from the $250-million sponsorship program went to Liberal-friendly ad firms, often for little or no apparent work.

"Something like this simply shouldn't be happening in a democracy," Anne Kothawala, the association's president and CEO, said in an interview.

"And one of the reasons that it's been allowed to happen is because of . . . the blatant disregard that they have for the access laws that are currently in place."

The commission is shining a light on how current laws allow the federal government to suppress information the public has a right to know, she said.

The inquiry, which may end up costing taxpayers as much as $60-million, has heard how top officials deliberately withheld information from the public and ordered bureaucrats to "twist the rules" to stop the truth from getting out, she added.

Here's the news release.

Here's the policy statement: In pursuit of meaningful access-to-information reform (.pdf file)

And here's the key recommendations:

A. Reforms must broaden and strengthen, not narrow and weaken the existing Access to Information Act.

B. Public money and public services must be subject to public scrutiny. Coverage of the Act should be broadened on the principle that a regime of openness and transparency must apply to the use of public funds or the provision of public
services that normally fall under the mandate of government.

C. Public interest must outweigh government secrecy, especially in cases of risk of significant harm to public health or safety, a grave environmental threat, or health or safety risks to an individual or group.

D. Information about Government must be considered as a national resource with implicit obligations of stewardship on government officials.

E. The reasons for government decisions in the public interest should be accessible to the public, without prejudicing the secrecy of Cabinet deliberations.

F. Access delayed is access denied. Delay is particularly injurious to journalism and has been used to “kill” or frustrate investigative projects. The powers of the Information Commissioner must be enhanced, to enforce compliance with
statutory response times.

G. Fees must not be viewed as a cost recovery exercise and should be waived in matters of public interest. The cost of administering the Act is part of the price of ensuring effective democracy.