Source: Canadian Taxpayers Federation
In Saskatchewan, the Information and Privacy Commissioner can make recommendations about freedom-of-information requests, but those recommendations are not binding. The provincial government is free to ignore them. When that happens, the only real option left for the person seeking the documents is to go to court — a process that can cost tens of thousands of dollars and take years. For most ordinary taxpayers, that is simply not realistic.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has been using access-to-information laws to uncover waste and questionable spending for years. They have documented cases ranging from expensive technology that underperformed to beautification projects and other expenditures that raise legitimate questions about value for money. The system only works properly when the government is required to hand over the records. When it can treat the commissioner’s findings as optional advice, accountability weakens.
Last year, according to the commissioner’s own reporting, a significant share of recommendations were either fully or partially ignored. The new commissioner has already indicated she wants the power to issue binding orders, something her predecessor also requested. Five other provinces and the federal government already give their information commissioners that authority. Saskatchewan remains an outlier.
Access to government information is not a minor procedural detail. The Supreme Court has described it as quasi-constitutional because free expression loses much of its force when people cannot find out what their government is actually doing. If the rules allow officials to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to comply, the right to know becomes conditional on the government’s willingness to be transparent.
Making the commissioner’s orders binding would be a practical, overdue reform. It would give ordinary citizens a stronger tool for holding government to account without forcing them into expensive litigation every time officials dig in their heels. Taxpayers deserve better than a system that works only when the government feels like cooperating.
