Scrap Access to Information fees instead of raising them, Information Commissioner says

"As Conservative MPs muse about raising the amount charged to Canadians to obtain government records, Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault says she would like to see the $5 application fee scrapped altogether, a move she believes may actually save money. Two Conservatives sitting on the House of Commons Access to Information and Ethics Committee on Thursday discussed moving the federal Access to Information system to a cost-recovery basis, with one suggesting a two-tiered system that would increase the fee charged to file a basic request from $5 to $25 for individuals, and to $200 for journalists and corporations. Legault says any increase would discourage people from using the law to obtain information and would fly in the face of the Conservatives’ stated commitment to making government more transparent ..."