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OTTAWA — A man’s request for government records has been denied after he was branded “vexatious” in a ruling that is troubling freedom of information advocates.

There are fears government departments could use the “vexatious” label — introduced by the Liberals in the last parliament — as a tactic to prevent the public’s right to know.

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“Any loophole put in the law is there for the government to hide something that people have the right to know,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, a government accountability group.

The high-profile Mark Norman trial highlighted how the government can abuse the access to information law. Lawyers for the vice-admiral, who were defending him on a charge of breach of trust, said they were obstructed from finding all the government records they requested.

A witness alleged the Department of National Defence deliberately did not use Norman’s name in internal files to keep records from being revealed publicly. The witness testified his superior told him: “Don’t worry, this isn’t our first rodeo. We made sure we never used his name.”