CANADA CELEBRATES RIGHT TO KNOW WEEK

OTTAWA, Sept. 20 /CNW/ - Information Commissioner of Canada Suzanne Legault joins her provincial and territorial counterparts to celebrate Right to Know Week, taking place from September 27 to October 1, 2010.

In keeping with the joint resolution for open government recently adopted by the access to information and privacy commissioners, the theme of this year's program is Openness in the Public Interest.

In the National Capital Region, renowned international experts will participate in various panels, where they will discuss the challenges to achieving greater government transparency. The following subjects will be discussed:

Preliminary event

September 20 - Canadian Bar Association with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

• Privacy and Access Rights in the Age of Technology: The State of Canadians' Information Rights in 2010 and Beyond

Events during Right to Know Week

September 28 - Hosted by Senator Francis Fox

• Balancing Openness and the Public Interest in Protecting Information

September 29 - In collaboration with Microsoft and other partners

• Push or Pull: Liberating Government Information
• Making the Case for Open Government

September 30 - Organized by Carleton University in collaboration with the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada

• Mediated Access: Journalists' Perspectives on the Uses and Abuses of Access Regimes
• From Principle to Principle: Enhancing Access in the Public Service
• Accessing Government Information in the Research Process (co-sponsored by the Canadian Journal of Law and Society)

In addition, this will be the first Right to Know Week in Canada where Canadians will be able to participate directly in online chat sessions with the Information Commissioner of Canada and her provincial and territorial counterparts.

For more information about the events scheduled in the various regions or to sign up to take part in the chat sessions with the information commissioners, visit the official Right to Know Web site at www.righttoknow.ca.

Attachments:

Right to Know program
http://www.righttoknow.ca/en/Uploads/rtk_program_final_en.pdf

Resolution on Open Government
http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr-ori-ari_2010_1.aspx

For further information:

Media representatives should address their information requests to:
Thérèse Boisclair
Director of Communications
613-943-4368