Info commissioner wants narrower access law for CBC

Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault says it would be helpful ifCanada's access to informationlaw was changed so the journalistic independence exemption granted to the CBC is more narrowly defined.

There should be an "injury-based" test, Legault told MPs Tuesday, so that the CBC would have to prove a request would leadto harm,specifically"to disclosure of journalistic sources, which must be protected."

Legault was appearing before the parliamentary access to information committee that is investigating her legal battle with the CBC. The CBC and Legault are in court over whether she has the right to see documents the CBC has refused to provide to access requesters.

Legault told MPs she currently has four similarcases before the courts the CBC, Canada Post, the Department of Justice and the RCMP.

Legault added that the CBC has been proactively disclosing some completed access requests on its website.

But she also revealed thatby January 2012 it will be mandatory for all government departments to post summaries of completed ATI requests. Anyone who wants to view the disclosed documents can then request them in the language of their choice.

Committee member Charlie Angus of the NDP brought up what he called a "dirty war" between CBC and its biggest competitor in Quebec, Quebecor.QuebecoroperatesFrench-language network TVA.

Is it true, Agnus wondered, that 80 per centof the access requests to the CBC came from Quebecor?

Legault said due to privacy concerns she could only say that 83 per centof the requests to CBC came from "business." Asked to define what a "business" is, Legault replied, "It's a good question because people define themselves imprecisely when they make access requests."

Sometimes journalists say they are private citizens, and some media outlets are known to hire law firms, she said. Last week, lawyer Michel Drapeau testified that he often files access requests about the CBC on behalf of Quebecors Sun Media.

Legault recalled that she gave the CBC an 'F' two years ago for its failure, in her eyes, to quickly comply with access requests.

"Things are better now," she said, but added she is "extremely concerned" about guidelines the CBC has just posted on how it deals with access requests.Legault saidit seems to her the CBC often turns downaccess requests based on the wording of the request without going the extra step of finding the relevant documents.

Next week, CBC President Hubert Lacroix is due to appear at the committee to answer questions about why the CBC is fighting the Information Commissioner in court.

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