Access Act big loser in fight over Afghan documents

Government's starting point in claiming secrecy is through the use of redactions outside the provisions of the Access to Information Act.

The current procedural crisis where Parliament is squaring off with the Harper government over the Afghan detainee documents has one sure loser—Canada's Access to Information Act. That's because the government's starting point in claiming secrecy is through the use of redactions outside the provisions of the Access to Information Act.

Redaction occurs when the government censors documents on a pretty sweeping basis under the...