Regarding the purpose clause in Nova Scotia, it's more on the access side in terms of how useful it's been, but I could see it working in a similar way on the privacy side. It spells out the series of things that are intended to be accomplished by the law, things like facilitating informed participation in policy formulation, ensuring fairness in government decision-making, and permitting the airing and reconciliation of divergent views.
It's interesting, when a legislature states these purposes so clearly, that when there's a possibility of interpretations of some of the sections, these purposes really guide the courts and the decision-makers. This is a unique opportunity for your committee and Parliament to anticipate some things and put some sign posts out there for the future because, of course, it takes some doing to amend these laws.