Ministers at odds over information law (PEI)
Ministers at odds over information law
WAYNE THIBODEAU
The Guardian
An off-hand remark in the P.E.I. legislature last week provided Islanders with a glimpse inside the Freedom of Information process and has two cabinet ministers at odds over the law.
Innovation Minister Allan Campbell was responding to a question from the Opposition regarding the contract the province handed to Bell Aliant to bring high-speed Internet to rural P.E.I.
"I believe there is a request that's been forwarded through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act with respect to the development agreement," Currie said in response to the question.
"I'm not sure if the member from Georgetown-St. Peters is part of that request or not, but certainly the request is in and I'm letting that process take place."
Those two sentences proved that the minister was aware that a Freedom of Information request had been made to his department, even before that information was made public.
That, says Attorney General Doug Currie, who is responsible for the Freedom of Information Act, is wrong. He said he's never personally asked for, or has never been given information about access requests from his department.
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