Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce has asked about the government's intentions with respect to reforms of the Access to Information Act.
The act is now 12 years old and much has changed since the act was first adopted. At that time access to information was seen as innovative and statutory rights to government information was thought to be a bold step.
Now we are fully in the information age. Canadians are increasingly purchasing computers and equipping them with modems. They are on the eve of the convergence of the television with computers. Those who have a television will also have the mechanism by which to retrieve information from the world at large. The Internet has completely changed our earlier notions of what access to information means.
The Access to Information Act was studied by a parliamentary committee in 1987. The information commissioner issued extensive recommendations to reform the act on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. The information commissioner also released background information studies he had commissioned, including one on information technology and open government.
The federal government recently adopted a blueprint for improving government services using new technology. It has created the Information Highway Advisory Council which is scheduled to report to the Minister of Industry in the spring.
Federal and provincial governments are engaged in a variety of pilot projects designed to provide more government information and services electronically. In the United States the department of justice has issued a draft consultation paper on electronic access to government information.
These initiatives are making more government information available than has previously been the case. This information is being provided outside the Access to Information Act and therefore with less red tape, more quickly and at virtually no cost to citizens.
All commentators on the Access to Information Act agree that what is needed most of all is a change in attitude that results in more government information becoming routinely available without requiring citizens to request it under the expensive and sometimes slow process of the Access to Information Act.
Progress is being made. There is no question that the Access to Information Act needs reforms. The minister has promised that the government will come forward with reforms.
The Liberal Party has made open government a promise in the red book. The minister has indicated that the Department of Justice is at work identifying areas where reforms could be made. We need to take the minister at his word. Reforms are coming. While precise details and dates are not now available, these will unfold in due course.