July 24, 2007
Kamloops Daily News


British Columbia has something to learn about openness from
the United States.

The Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S. recently
released hundreds of documents that reveal extraordinary
inner workings. It's a refreshing display of candor.

The released documents, known inside the CIA as the "family
jewels," admit to shocking exploits. They reveal
assassination plots against foreign leaders in which the mob
was enlisted; the experimentation of LSD on unwitting
citizens; the wiretapping of journalists; spying on civil
rights protesters; and the opening of mail directed to
foreign governments.

Premier Campbell likes open government. He said so before
he became premier. "Open government is the hallmark of free
and democratic societies. I am writing to express my
enthusiastic support for the Campaign for Open Government,"
he wrote in 1998.

Many groups and individuals support this coalition of
journalists, civil libertarians, politicians and activists
called The Campaign for Open Government. The Daily News is
one.

No wonder Campbell liked open government back then. As
opposition leader, 30 per cent of all requests for
information from the government came from the Liberals.

Now that he premier, he still professes to have "the most
open, accountable and democratic government in Canada."
It's too bad he doesn't walk the talk. His failure to fund
and build a strong Freedom of Information office has had the
opposite effect.

It was the best in North America when B.C.'s Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act was was enacted by
then Premier Harcourt in 1993. It's become weaker ever
since.

First, former premier Glen Clark made staff cuts to FOI
which restricted the ability of staff to process requests.
Then Premier Campbell made changes under Bill 25 that was
supposed to improve FOI. But the effect has been to resist,
evade and delay the flow of information.

Some changes are undemocratic. Campbell bypassed parliament
through an order-in-council to remove large areas of
government from scrutiny. Now you can't find out anything
about the Olympic Organizing Committee, the Climate Change
Committee, B.C. Ferries, and several Liberal Caucus
committees.

Even if you could lift the veil of secrecy, your chances of
seeing anything are slim. The FOI office refuses to provide
the information on almost one-half the requests. And when
it does, it's less than complete - - only about one out of
five of all requests for information result in full
disclosure.

And the government discriminates against applicants. If you
happen to be from a political party, newspaper, or advocacy
group, your chances are even less; such groups can expect a
longer wait times and higher denial rates.

Getting hold of information is uncomplicated if the
government likes you and if the information you seek is
innocuous.

These delays in information are illegal under the FOI act.
Originally, the maximum response time originally allowed
under the act was 30 days. Then Campbell changed the law so
that response time was 30 working days; an average of 42
calendar days. Even with the extension in time, delays
exceed the legal limit in about one-half the requests.

Individuals are affected more than groups because they don't
have the money or resources to pursue the request. Many
individuals have simply given up trying to get information.
Individual applications have dropped 68 percent between 2001
and 2005.

The government is also discouraging freedom of information
by charging exorbitant fees. A fee of $173,000 was levied
against Sierra Legal which was seeking data on polluters.
The fee was rescinded when the outrageous amount became
public.

It's not like the government doesn't have enough money to
fund the FOI office. Money is available for other things
such advertising which increased 100 per cent in a single
year to $21.8 million. It seems that the government would
prefer to massage the message than let the truth be known.

What happened to the man who once said: "When I look at how
much money government spends on advertising . . . I think
people are appalled by that. It's not where they want their
dollars to go?" And: "When government does its business
behind closed doors, people will invariably believe that
government has something to hide." Answer: he became the
current premier of B.C.

How refreshing it would be if the government of B.C. opened
up the vaults and let the information flow. Maybe Premier
Campbell could invite the CIA to lend him a hand.
 

David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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