RCMP Is So Slow to Act on Access to Information Requests, It’s Under Investigation | The Tyee
The act requires federal agencies to provide requested information within 30 days. If they can’t meet the deadline, they are required to notify the person or organization seeking the information. If the expected delay is more than an additional 30 days, they’re required to notify the Office of the Information Commissioner.
But the RCMP failed to notify people requesting information that it would miss deadlines in almost two-thirds of cases in 2017-18. Its failure rate has jumped from 15 per cent in 2014-15, to 64 per cent in 2017-18.
He said the RCMP’s worsening record may represent a return to secrecy in government, especially around policing.
“The RCMP and law enforcement in general in this country have always been opposed to freedom of information,” Holman said.
A 1978 document by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police law amendment committee shows an attitude that continues today, he said.