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Suzanne Legault says she doesn't want second term as information overseer

Info commissioner won't seek new term

OTTAWA — Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault says she will step down when her current term expires at the end of June.

Legault, who was first appointed in 2010, says she is prepared to stay in the job, if necessary, until the government finds a successor.

The information commission oversees government compliance with the Access to Information Act and deals with complaints from those who feel they have been short-changed by government in requesting information.

The commissioner is an officer of Parliament who is appointed after consultation with party leaders and the approval of the House of Commons and the Senate.

Legault is the fifth person to hold the post, which was created in 1983.

During her term, Legault tabled a number of special reports to Parliament, including those dealing with the health of the access act, political interference in access requests and the government's handling of requests about the long-gun registry.

She also offered recommendations for modernizing the access law.

In announcing her departure on Thursday, she said it was an honour to hold the job.

"I am very proud of what my office has accomplished and of the work that my staff has done to ensure that Canadians have the right to access government information," she said in a statement.

Legault is a lawyer who was both a defence and Crown counsel before she joined the Competition Bureau and then moved to the information commissioner as assistant commissioner in 2007.

 

The Canadian Press