Speed over depth spells journalism's decline

Transparency doesn’t disappear overnight — it erodes.

In this episode of Now and Next, I sit down with veteran journalist Dean Beeby to unpack what he calls a shrinking landscape for transparency in Canada. Fewer Canadians are filing Access to Information requests. Journalists are walking away from FOI. And the system meant to deliver accountability is taking longer, costing more, and producing less.

We talk about delays that stretch months — even years — documents returned blacked out beyond usefulness, and vague legal definitions that give bureaucrats enormous discretion. We explore the collapse of newsroom resources, government inefficiencies in a digital age, costly court battles over mandate letters and cellphone records, and why all of this ultimately benefits those in power.

But there is a modest shift underway: the federal Information Commissioner now has the authority to order document releases — a change that’s beginning to rattle government.

If you care about transparency, accountability, and the health of journalism in Canada, this is a conversation worth your time.

Subscribe to Now and Next for deeper conversations on the forces shaping public life — beyond the daily noise.

Видео Speed over depth spells journalism's decline канала Dave Trafford