Access To Information Not A Constitutional Right

Interesting that on the same day that all non-NDP Members of Parliament consummated a deal to review military documents, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that access to information is not a constitutional right. The vote was a tight one, 7-0. There exists sensitive information that the regular citizenry should not be privy to, such as military documents which discuss our combat tactics. What's odd is that our highest court waited 18 months to release this decision (which is very long by SC standards). The judges were unanimous in their support, but it took 18 months? Could they not have decided this 12 months ago in a 4-3 vote, or did they have to deliberate until there was unanimous support?

Jack Layton could not have liked this Supreme Court ruling. The NDP want more documents made public, even if it compromises the safety of our troops currently deployed in the field. If any of our soldiers behave badly, they are subject to a court martial. The military regularly investigates the conduct of our soldiers and prosecutes and punishes where necessary, kind of like the TV show JAG.