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Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, writing in the Globe, stumps for her reimagined Access to Information Act — one that wouldn’t be consistently “interpreted and applied as a shield against transparency,” and that would “help foster a government culture that is ‘open by default.'” It’s nice to dream, isn’t it?

Provincial affairs

In an excellent editorial in La Presse, André Pratte correctly observes that the “Quebec consensus” on establishing a provincial long-gun registry is “largely based on emotion (justifiable, obviously) and ignorance.” There are only about 12 or so murders with long guns in Quebec every year, he notes; the number of murders is declining with the overall crime rate (which is an argument againstgetting “tough on crime” when Conservatives do it — just sayin’); and no one knows or seems particularly interested in how many of those murders could be prevented by the registry, or indeed how much it will cost. People will say: If it saves “even one life, it’s worth the effort,” Pratte pbserves. But as he says, “this logic is absurd. In this area as in any other, a measure must be judged on its effectiveness and cost.”

Do not expect Alberta Premier Jim Prentice to delay the election in light of alarming poll numbers suggesting serious blowback to his budget, the Edmonton Journal‘s Graham Thomsonadvises. The first alarming poll was conducted using the “demon dialler” method, which “always tend[s] to skew towards the people who are motivate by anger,” pollster Janet Brown tells Thomson. The second wasn’t a random survey, but one of those “in-house panels.” And the Wildrose are not well-positioned, well-funded or confident enough to present a truly compelling threat, in Thomson’s view.

Duly noted

On the occasion of his retirement, Full Pundit regularHaroon Siddiquireflects on his 37 years at the Toronto Star. We wish him well.

National Post

Chris Selley: • cselley@nationalpost.com | cselley