The province’s privacy commissioner agrees a provision in the new Energy Corporation Act is too broad, and cause for concern.

Michael Harvey was responding to questions raised by Independent MHA Paul Lane about the provision that will allow Nalcor and OilCo to be exempted from ATIPPA under certain circumstances.

Lane says the new Oil and Gas Corporation will operate under what he calls the same “veil of secrecy” as did Nalcor when it comes to commercially sensitive information.

Harvey says the new legislation contains a provision that allows the CEO to determine what constitutes commercially sensitive information. Harvey says the provision allows a “very broad swath” of information to be commercially sensitive, and thus be exempted from public access.

This is Right to Know Week which recognizes the importance of the public’s right to access information held by government and other public bodies.