Governments in Canada playing games with public’s right to know

Image by myrcell via FlickrFreedom of information
Governments in Canada playing games with public’s right to know
By FRED VALLANCE-JONES
Thu. Jan 22 - 6:25 AM

Canadians looking for a thrill have a new game to play. It’s called freedom of information roulette and it’s playing at a government near you.

Depending on which government you ask, you can get information on police use of Tasers, what bureaucrats are telling ministers about a carbon tax, and how much your city pays to different vendors for goods and services.

Or you can’t.

The latest Canadian Newspaper Association audit of government openness found that access to important information varies dramatically across Canada. When we sent identical requests for the same information, the responses ranged from quick release outside formal channels all the way to enormous fee demands nobody could reasonably be expected to pay.

And that’s a problem for us all because when the door to basic information is locked, we’re on the way to closing the door on democracy.

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