Bid to Narrow Transparency Law ‘A Move in the Wrong Direction,’ Info Watchdog Says

Caroline Maynard, information commissioner of Canada, prepares to appear before the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 9, 2026. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Information commissioner Caroline Maynard says a federal proposal to narrow the scope of the Access to Information Act is a move in the wrong direction that could exclude “entire swaths of government-held records” from public scrutiny.

Maynard makes the blunt warning in a newly published submission to the Treasury Board Secretariat’s latest review of the access regime.