Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for Newmarket—Aurora for his work on open government.
This directive sends a strong message across federal institutions that government information belongs to the people we serve and should be open by default. It also directs federal officials to waive all fees for access to information, apart from the $5 filing fee, and to release information in more user-friendly formats, such as Excel spreadsheets, whenever possible.
This is an important step for the Government of Canada. We are taking this step because we are committed to revitalizing and strengthening access to information.