The opposition took a brief reprieve in question period Thursday from pressing on Finance Minister Bill Morneau about conflicts of interest so they could hammer the government on secrecy, charging that the Liberals’ Access to Information reforms will actually help government information stay hidden.

The NDP took it a step further, promising to introduce dozens of amendments at committee to the new legislation, while the Liberals tried to stem criticisms by saying they’re open to some amendments when it comes to bureaucrats denying requests.

The push against the Liberal’s access reforms came after scathing testimony from the Information Commissioner Wednesday when she said the new bill would have prevented requests that led to uncovering the infamous sponsorship scandal.

That prompted Conservative treasury critic Gerard Deltell to ask in question period what other scandals the Liberals intend to hide with the new law.

Treasury Board President Scott Brison retorted that the Conservatives had themselves promised to reform Access to Information laws, but “did nothing in ten years.”

“We have no lessons to learn from the most secretive government in history,” Brison said.

But in the lead up to question period Thursday, the NDP promised to introduce a score of amendments to the Liberals’ Access to Information reform legislation, Bill C-58, charging that without changes it will only make future governments more secretive.

NDP justice critic Murray Rankin said his party plans to introduce 28 amendments that would address areas of concern highlighted in Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault’s dire assessment of the Liberal government’s legislation to overhaul Canada’s dated Access to Information law.

Rankin said the bill would create a “culture of secrecy” in government, making information “secret by default” and making the access climate “worse” than it was under the Harper government.

He said his party will propose removing the legislation’s requirement that those requesting information provide “sufficient detail” about the kind of documents they want to access. He, too, pointed to part of her testimony that said the new requirement would have blocked an access request that reporter Daniel Leblanc used to break the sponsorship scandal.

He said they will also call for the removal of a clause allowing departments to block “frivolous and vexatious” requests and instead put that decision in the hands of the information commissioner, and to open up ministers’ offices to access requests. He added the government should also drop the $5-per-request access fee — which Rankin said imposes a processing cost of about $55 per cheque.

Legault has said the proposed law would be “regressive” and that if she had the choice, she would opt to leave the system as it is rather than accepting the reforms in new bill.

Testifying Wednesday before a House of Commons committee, Legault said bureaucrats are already starting to use the wording of the new law in denying requests – even though bill is not yet law.

Legault also warned the new reforms could even hurt efforts to settle Indigenous land claims.

Brison said Thursday the Liberals are willing to accept some amendments to the bill so that bureaucrats would have to seek approval from the information commissioner before refusing a request, thereby ensuring the bill “strengthens the regime.”

Brison said the Liberals would be the first government to modernize the Access to Information Act in three decades.

The Liberals promised in 2015 they would introduce reforms to the Access to Information system, often criticized for being a slow and inefficient mechanism for releasing information to the public.