10 more Crown corporations will have to open records

Last Updated: Thursday, February 17, 2005 | 11:45 AM ET

CBC News

Ten more Crown agencies will come under public scrutiny as Ottawa reforms the act that grants access to government information, Treasury Board President Reg Alcock said Thursday.

New organizations to be covered:

Canada Development Investment Corporation Canadian Race Relations Foundation Cape Breton Development Corporation Cape Breton Growth Fund Corporation Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation Marine Atlantic Inc. Old Port of Montreal Parc Downsview Park Inc. Queens Quay West Land Corporation Ridley Terminal Inc.

Yet he acknowledged that his changes won't prevent the kind of abuses that cropped up in the sponsorship scandal, when a handful of Crown corporations were accused of mishandling government funds.

"No law or rule ultimately is going to solve a problem where people are deliberately trying to circumvent it," Alcock said.

The government's failure to include high-profile Crown corporations like Canada Post and Via Rail under the access legislation disappointed NDP MP Pat Martin.

"If freedom of information is the oxygen that democracy breathes, we're still having another smog day here in Ottawa," he said.

Already, 28 Crown corporations or agencies are covered by the Access to Information Act.

That means that for a $5 fee, members of the public, journalists and opposition politicians can ask to see many of the documents, audits, expense reports and messages produced by and about the agencies and their employees.

Alcock tabled a report on the governing of Crown corporations in the House of Commons Thursday morning, after a year-long review.

Other actions the government intends to take:

• Make the Auditor General of Canada the auditor or joint auditor of all Crown corporations, giving her the power to conduct special examinations.
• Give Crown corporation employees whistleblower protection under the Liberals' Bill C-11.
• Make the minister responsible for each Crown corporation spell out the government's policy priorities to its board of directors, clearing setting performance expectations and clarifying the accountability structure.
• Refine how CEOs and board members are appointed.
• Ensure boards are independent from Crown corporation managers.

The Liberals came under increasing pressure to make Crown corporations more accountable and transparent after four of them were caught up in the federal sponsorship scandal last year: Canada Post, Via Rail, the Business Development Bank of Canada and the Old Port of Montreal Corporation.

• INDEPTH: Sponsorship program

A federal committee recommended three years ago that most Crown corporations should be subject to the access to information law.

Seven Crown corporations – including Canada Post, Via Rail, the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – will remain exempt from the information act "until the government has developed mechanisms to protect their commercially sensitive information," Alcock's report said.

The CBC is also concerned that whistle-blowers on important stories would be reluctant to contact the broadcaster if they fear that their names will be revealed.

Alcock said the CBC won't be covered by the act until protection of journalistic sources can be guaranteed.

He also said the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board won't be included because it is a federal-provincial agency.