DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray recently announced the procurement of FOIAXpress, which will be the District’s first-ever citywide FOIA-processing system. This is part of a new initiative designed to improve transparency, public participation and accountability in the District government. “The automated system will be a great benefit not only to
Former DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray recently announced the procurement of FOIAXpress, which will be the District’s first-ever citywide FOIA-processing system. This is part of a new initiative designed to improve transparency, public participation and accountability in the District government. “This new automated FOIA system is in keeping with one
On July 1, Canada’s Access to Information Act celebrated its 30th birthday; the legislation was considered groundbreaking at the time of its creation. However, recently Canada has faced criticism for its now outdated access to information policies, as evidenced by Canada’s ranking of 55th out of 93 nations in regards to government transparency,
Canada’s Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has been conducting a wide-ranging review of Canada’s federal access to information legislation. These efforts follow Canada’s recently poor ranking for right-to-know legislation across the globe conducted by the Centre for Law and Democracy. In 2011, Canada’s standing was 40th of 89 countries; in
As 2012 winds down, we wanted to take a look back at the past year at a few of the major events of freedom of information in the U.S. March 11 – 16: Sunshine Week celebrated nationwide As part of Sunshine Week 2011, the 13th Annual National Freedom of Information Day Conference was
AINS, Inc., held its 2012 FOIAXpress Users Group Conference in downtown Washington D.C. FOIAXpress is a software system produced by AINS, Inc. that automates compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act. Over 200 government FOIA professionals from over 50 government agencies attended the FOIAXpess conference which
The Virginia Supreme Court is hearing a case this week about a vote to close down one of Fairfax County’s elementary schools. Parent Jill DeMello Hill has charged that, prior to the open meeting, elected officials who made the decision sent numerous emails which violate the Virginia Freedom of Information
The Virginia General Assembly has passed a bill that could prevent FOIA requestors from learning the identities of people who communicate with policymakers. The new exemption allows the names and contact information of anyone engaged in correspondence with a member of the governing body to be concealed, unless the correspondence relates
