A blow for transparency, but culture shift may be far off From left are Information Commissioner retired Justice Keith Thompson, Attorney General Carl Bethel and Deputy Information Commissioner Shane Miller. The announcement by the attorney general on Sunday of the appointments of an information commissioner and a deputy commissioner, and the opening of the Freedom of Information office – though not yet to the public – were important steps in a long quest for more open and accountable government. But it will likely take a very long time before we experience a culture shift in our government and in the public service, which have traditionally been strongly opposed to providing the media and the wider public access to information they have a legitimate right to have.