Ontario's freedom-of-information legislation should be expanded to include universities and public hospitals, says the province's Information and Privacy Commissioner.

In her annual report, Ann Cavoukian praised the new Liberal government for extending freedom-of-information legislation to Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation and said it would be a "consistent and next logical step" to include all postsecondary education institutions and hospitals.

Ms. Cavoukian noted that both sectors were excluded when Ontario erected its privacy and FOI framework in 1988. She noted, for example, that community colleges are covered, but that universities have been allowed to operate their own FOI schemes.

"It's not clear what the logic is for that at all," she said. "We think it would be much more effective if you just had across-the-board application."

Ontario's 18 universities receive about $2-billion in transfer payments, while the 159 public-hospital corporations in the province get $11.3-billion. Assistant commissioner Tom Mitchinson praised the government for extending the mandate of the Provincial Auditor to cover these institutions, but said the reform shouldn't stop there.

"There is no basis for distinguishing that particular accountability system from the accountability system under freedom of information," he said.

Ms. Cavoukian's call for an expansion of the FOI system was endorsed by the Canadian Newspaper Association.

"Public money requires public scrutiny," said CNA president and chief executive officer Anne Kothawala. "Governments have got to stop stage managing the release of information because it's all about openness and transparency and you can't have good government without open government."

The Privacy Commissioner used her seventh annual report to the legislature to renew her call for the government to enact privacy legislation for the private sector.

She noted that the Liberals had moved -- a new law comes into effect on Nov. 1 -- to regulate the privacy of health records and said legislation to spell out how companies must deal with their customers' private records would be a good "companion piece."

The Privacy Commissioner said Ontario's performance in dealing with FOI requests had improved dramatically last year. But she noted that the City of Toronto and the Toronto Police Service had performed badly.

The city complied with just 59 per cent of FOI requests in the 30 days allowed, compared with the 96-per-cent rate of all other municipalities. Similarly, the Toronto police compliance rate of 32 per cent lagged behind the 85-per-cent rate of other police services.

Ms. Cavoukian also called on Premier Dalton McGuinty to reinforce "a culture of openness" by writing to all cabinet ministers and deputy ministers to press upon them that the government has a responsibility to disclose all information "unless there is a clear and compelling reason not to do so."

Management Board chair Gerry Phillips said the government was monitoring private-sector privacy laws in British Columbia and Alberta and promised to follow up Ms. Cavoukian's recommendations.

"On behalf of the legislature, we take the recommendations that she's made seriously," he said.