A panel discussion during Right to Know Week will take place at Carleton University later this month. (Photograph by nismonick)

I’m excited to announce I’ll be speaking at my alma mater for an event celebrating Right to Know Week. On Sept. 26, Carleton University and the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada will be holding an afternoon seminar on open and transparent government. Treasury Board President Scott Brison will be the keynote speaker. I’ll be part of a panel discussing access in journalism along with Toronto Star investigative reporter Jayme Poisson – who has been studying the access to information process – and VICE News features editor Justin Ling. There will also be panels on policy issues and open government. If you’re in Ottawa, I look forward to seeing you there.

This is where I’m going to be for the next little while. (Photograph by Shutterstock.com)

As you may have noticed, I’ve been absent from this site for the past few weeks. Part of the reason for that absence is the approaching end of the fall semester and all marking that entails. But I’m also pleased to announce I’m working on an early history of the Access to Information Act (1965-1983).

The book will tell the story of the long fight for that law by a somewhat incongruous group of politicians, academics, lawyers and activists. And it will help explain why that fight continues to be fought — and often lost — today. I look forward to sharing that story with you.

But, in the meantime, I’ll will be stepping back from penning my weekly column about government secrecy. From time to time, I’ll still write about current attempts to frustrate the public’s right to know, as well as the results of my research. So be sure to sign-up as a email subscriber to this site to stay informed. I’ll also continue to be active on Twitter, contributing to the #cdnfoi discussion. But this book is a major undertaking that will need as much time as I can give it.

P.S. If you or anyone you know was part of the early history of the Access to Information Act, please drop me a line at this address. I would love to hear from you.

Tweets by @publiceyeonline

I’ll be taking a break from column writing for the next few weeks. But follow me on Twitter, where I’ll continue bringing you the latest news and views about secrecy and openness in Canada.

Update: After a longer than anticipated hiatus, I’ll be resuming regular publication of the Unknowable Country on September 7. So be sure not to miss any of my forthcoming coverage by becoming an email subscriber to this Website. Sign up by typing your email address into the box on the right.

I’ll be taking the next few weeks off to celebrate the holiday season and prepare course outlines for the coming semester. That means the Unknowable Country’s weekly look at openness and accountability in Canada will be on hiatus until the New Year. But check back then for more insights and information about your right to know. In the meantime, my best wishes to you and yours.

I’ll be trying to make the unknowable country a little more known on Monday. (Graphic by Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch)

What does living in an unknowable country mean for those trying to increase access to government data and information? I tried to answer that question on Friday, during a speech at the Open Data Summit in Vancouver.

I’ll be posting the text of that speech online early next week. But I’ll also be sharing some of those thoughts with the Canadian Bar Association Alberta Branch. I’m scheduled to talk with the branch’s privacy and access law section (south) in Calgary this coming Monday.

Meanwhile, my weekly summary of news about the people, the press and the powerful in Canada will resume next week.

You can now enjoy Whipped on DVD! (Graphic by VICTOR CRAPNELL, Art Department Design)

Today, I’m extremely pleased to announce DVDs for Whipped: the secret world of party discipline have been finally been printed. You can check out the cover — created by Victoria-based graphic designer Victor Crapnell — above. The first copies have been ordered by Alberta’s Legislature Library, Douglas College and Fair Vote Canada’s Waterloo region chapter.