A public meeting heard Bermudians voice their concerns over the proposed freedom of information legislation not being retroactive.

The Public Access to Information legislation will be tabled next year and the meeting was held to get public participation before the November 30 deadline.

Freedom of information expert Carole Excell gave a presentation along with Government's policy analyst Kimberley McKeown to inform those in attendance about the bill and exactly what it entails.

She is a senior associate at the World Resources Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank and helped both Cayman Island and Jamaica with their legislation.

The common question among the group was why the bill was not going to be retroactive.

Ms Excell previously said it is common practice to make freedom of information retroactive — yet Bermuda plans to only give people the right to get information after the date PATI goes on the statute books, likely 2010.

That means anyone trying to find out details about anything that happened in the years leading up to that date faces the chance of their request falling on deaf ears.

Last night she said: "My belief is that there's a human right to information. You should be able to ask for any piece of documentation. It's not the age that matters.

"To me if you have good exemptions, you shouldn't fear about making the law retroactive. It doesn't matter if it's a document I made today or last week. If it's not to go out, it's not to go out. To me, you shouldn't consider not going back. You don't want them not to have that information from the past.

"It's really, really important, this bill. I cannot emphasise enough. I think it's a really good reason to lobby for a bill that you want in Bermuda. It's up to civil society and the public to say what you want. If you want retroaction, you need to say it. It needs to be said by the public so the Government can hear you."

She continued: "It's really critical that people recognise that freedom of information is a human right. If you pay taxes, you should have a right to say what you expect from Government as a service. I am hoping that my presence increases the number of submissions and interest in this law."

An audience member spoke about it and said: "I think this PATI bill is something the public should look carefully at because it's an important issue. You mention that the Government records are in a bad state and therefore the act is not retroactive."

Ms McKeown said: "One of the first questions would be how do you organise your documents. My understanding is that you should be available under FOI. The public should have that information."

So far, four submissions have been turned in and Ms McKeown said she is hoping more people submit what information they would like access to because in order for the law to work, people need to use it.

"We would love to have as many responses as possible. We would love as many as possible. We would like people to think about the bill and the legislation. We do have some subjective submissions right now. This is the public's opportunity to give their view. I do expect there will be changes to the bill based on consultation."

Speaking about Government's responsibility, Mrs. Excell said: "It's really up to Government and civil society to make sure that the law is implemented well. It's kind of like a partnership. Civil servants are citizens too. This is not just a law for people outside the Government."