There are some basic principles that underlie the Freedom of Information legislation. These are important because they provide an important guide for interpreting how the Act should be implemented thus increasing public access to information:
- Freedom of Information legislation should be guided by the principle of maximum disclosure
- Public authorities are obligated to publish key information of public interest about their organization
- Exceptions should be clearly and narrowly drawn
- Requests for information should be processed fairly and rapidly
You can look forward to an explanation of each of the principles in your weekly newsletter update from the Freedom of Information Division (FOID)!
