Clouding Accountability: Canada's Government Secrecy and National Security Law Complex
![handle is hein.journals/ottlr36 and id is 55 raw text is: Clouding Accountability: Canada's
Government Secrecy and National Security
Law Complex
CRAIG FORCESE*
Strong philosophical arguments, interna-
tional legal precepts and the federal
Access to Information Act favour open-
ness and transparency in government. Yet,
national security interests may sometimes
justify non-disclosure. Deciding when
national security should trump access to
information is a difficult undertaking, one
regulated in Canada by law. Part I of this
Article sets out the policy and legal basis
for open government at the federal level in
Canada. Part 2juxtaposes this informa-
tion disclosure regime with government
secrecy law. Special attention is paid to the
controversial Security of Information
Act, the national security exemptions to
the Access to Information Act and
recent national security amendments to
the Canada Evidence Act. The Article
argues in Part 3 that these and other
statutes comprise a labyrinth of imper-
fectly integrated national security secrecy
law The Article concludes with three
quick fixes bringing government secrecy
laws into better alignment with open gov-
ernment policies and international best
practices, while at the same time permit-
ting non-disclosure of legitimate national
security secrets.
Des arguments philosophiques convaincants, des
principes de droit international et ]a Loi sur i'acc~s
a 'informationjfdgrale militent enfaveur de l'ou-
verture et de la transparence du gouvernement. Par
contre, la sicuriti nationale justifie parfois la non-
communication de renseignements. Dicider d quel
moment Ia sicuriti nationale doit primer sur l'accis
d rinformation est une tache difficile, qui au Canada
est r~gie par Ia loi. Cet article expose en premiere
partie ]a politique et les fondements juridiques du
gouvernement fediral transparent au Canada. En
deuxikme partie, l'article examine ce rigime de
communication des renseignerents contre la toile
defond de ]a loi relative au secret gouvernemental.
Une attention particulire est accordie i la Loi sur
la protection de l'information qui est controver-
sie, aux exceptions d Loi sur l'accis d l'information
pour des motifs de sicuriti nationale ainsi qu'aux
modifications ricentes apporties d la Loi sur la
preuve au Canada en mati~re de sicuriti
nationale. En troisijme partie, l'argument estfait
que ces lois et d'autres encore forment un labyrinthe
ligislatif &sordonng en mati~re du secret li d la
sicuriti nationale. En conclusion, l'article propose
trois solutions rapides pour que les lois relatives au
secret gouvernemental soient plus en harmonie avec
)a politique de transparence du gouvernement et les
pratiques exemplaires en droit international, tout en
permettant ]a non-communication de secrets
ligitimement li& t la sicuriti nationale.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. B.A. (McGill), M.A. (Carleton), LL.B.
(Ottawa), LL.M. (Yale), of the Bars of Ontario, New York and the District of Columbia. My
thanks to Lise Rivet for her careful comments on drafts of this article and to the editors and staff
of the Ottawa Law Review for their diligent editorial assistance.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/ottlr36&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Clouding Accountability: Canada's Government Secrecy and National Security Law Complex
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