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The federal government has spent approximately $57 million on outside consultants over the past nine years to help decide which government records Canadians are allowed to obtain.

About 60 per cent of that spending, to handle what are called “access to information” requests, have occurred during the last four years of Conservative rule. The spending is above and beyond that allocated to full-time staff who handle such requests in each department.

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The spending figures are contained in an order paper question from NDP MP Charlie Angus, although the data are not complete: Some agencies and Crown corporations, such as the CBC and the Public Service Commission, didn’t provide numbers in the response, instead directing recipients to the annual reports each files on access to information spending.

Under the access to information regime, Canadians can request federal government records and information – which their taxes pay for – although the law allows some information to be withheld, such as data that could compromise national security or breach someone’s privacy.