Morton’s proposed transparency reforms fail to impress Democracy Watch critic
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
15 May Movement Demands Access to Information Law in Spain (via Access !nfo Europe)
ACCESS INFO EUROPE
For immediate release
15 May Movement Demands Access to Information Law in Spain
Madrid 26th May – Last week the squares of Spanish cities were "taken" by the Spanish youth who are calling for "real democracy" and an end to corruption in the face of a system that they feel is failing them on the economy, welfare, and citizen representation.
Citizens camped out in Madrid's central square Puerta de Sol, fed up with the governments' business-as-usual attitude to these problems, are taking matters into their own hands. The increasingly organised movement has this week formed a working group, "Transparency Law Now!" dedicated exclusively to campaigning for progress on the gridlocked Spanish access to information law.
An access to information law was promised by the socialist government in their election manifestos of 2004 and 2008. In 2008-2009 a draft was produced which was leaked to Access Info Europe in September 2010. Access Info published this draft and held consultations with the public and experts who concluded that it fell short of international standards.
When Access Info and the Spanish coalition for an access to information law, the Coalición Pro Acceso, met with minister of the presidency, Ramón Jaúregui, in March, he explained that due to the crisis the transparency law was not considered a priority. He promised however, to inform the groups within one month whether an access to information law would be presented before the end of the current mandate. Two months have now passed and a decision has not yet been taken.
Transparency may not be a government priority but protesters are demanding it be moved up the agenda. One of the most common protest slogans reads, 'there is not enough bread for so many thieves'. This well illustrates the overwhelming sense that while citizens are facing ever deeper cuts to salaries and benefits, a lack of transparency means precious resources are lost via corruption and mismanagement.
"Government apathy for transparency is unacceptable, it should be a priority. The denial of the right of access to information in Spain is a perfect example of the bigger problem; people are in the streets because they feel that the government is not working for them" commented Victoria Anderica of Access Info Europe.
On Sunday 22nd May the Spanish people went to the polls and left the socialist government with little support at the regional and local level. A lack of faith in the political system also led over 4%1] of voters to spoil their ballots in an act of no confidence much talked about in the context of the 15M protests. In this hostile climate it is yet to be seen whether president Zapatero's government will reconsider its priorities and put transparency transparency back on the agenda before the end of their term.
For further information, please contact:
Lydia Medland
Project Coordinator
Access Info Europe
Madrid
+34 91 365 2634
[1] This is one point up from the previous election, see, http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/23/actualidad/1306104164_099870.html
Photo by Pamela Bartlett, shows banners on the scaffolding of a department store in Puerta del Sol, the top banner calls for "real democracy".
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Thursday, May 26, 2011
Keep FOI panel independent
Keep FOI panel independent
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Connecticut's news media are so steeped in the culture that formed around the Freedom of Information Act over the years, the term "FOI" has evolved into a verb, as in "We'll have to FOI the police department for that information." The FOI is a vitally ...
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Freedom of information trumps academic freedom - San Francisco Examiner
Freedom of information trumps academic freedom - San Francisco Examiner
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After months of invoking "academic freedom" to string along the Virginia attorney general's office, a state legislator, and the American Tradition Institute, the University of Virginia has finally been court-ordered to comply with the state's ... ...
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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Transparency: This Generation’s Magna Carta?
Transparency: This Generation's Magna Carta?
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Daniel Schuman of the Sunlight Foundation — a great access advocate at a great access advocacy shop — attended the first Global Conference on Transparency Research at Rutgers University-Newark, which brought together two hundred transparency researchers from around the world. Thanks to a post-surgical travel ban, I missed it, doggonit, but I thought I'd pass along his great post, ...
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Freedom of information laws are used to harass scientists, says Nobel laureate
Freedom of information laws are used to harass scientists, says Nobel laureate
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Sir Paul Nurse says climate scientists are being targeted by campaigns of requests designed to slow down their research
Freedom of information laws are being misused to harass scientists and should be re-examined by the government, according to the president of the Royal ...
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OMB to cut two transparency programs, suspend others
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via Nextgov.com News Articles by By Joseph Marks on 5/24/11
Move comes after the e-gov transparency fund was slashed 75 percent in April negotiations to avert a government shutdown.Things you can do from here:
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Nigeria : Where is my Freedom of Information Bill? - AllAfrica.com
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via "freedom of information" - Bing News on 5/25/11
Earlier this year, first the House, then the Senate passed an imperfect Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill. It was assumed that President Goodluck Jonathan's signature on the bill would shortly follow, but alarm bells began to ring when a Special adviser ...Things you can do from here:
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Nigeria passes first freedom of information bill - AP - msnbc.com
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via "freedom of information" - Bing News on 5/25/11
A senator who sponsored Nigeria's first freedom of information bill says it could give citizens of Africa's most populous nation access to public records for the first time. Sen. Abike Dabiri, a former journalist, said Wednesday the latest version of the ...Things you can do from here:
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
McDaniels Praises FOI But Claims Exemption
McDaniels Praises FOI But Claims Exemption
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It looks like Attorney General Dustin McDaniel following the political tradition of "do as I say and not as I do" in regards to FOI. This morning in Jonesboro he is a featured speaker at a series of road shows put on by the Arkansas Press Association ...
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Information boss to rule on withheld legal aid report
Information boss to rule on withheld legal aid report
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(CNS): Following the denial of an FOI request made by CNS more than one year ago for a legal aid report it will be the information commissioner who finally decides if it should be released or not. The document, which was finished in March 2010, ... ...
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Protect public's right to know
Protect public's right to know
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That's why we strongly urge the General Assembly to abandon a plan, originating with the governor's budget proposal, which would include the FOI Commission in the consolidation of as many as 11 agencies in a new Office of Government Accountability. ...
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011
From the bench, a boost for government secrecy
From the bench, a boost for government secrecy
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In a major decision, the court decided that Canada's Access to Information Act does not apply to the records controlled by the people at the top of the government's power pyramid: the prime minister, cabinet ministers, and their staffs. ... ...
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Information commissioner alarmed by court ruling - CTV
Information commissioner alarmed by court ruling - CTV
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The ruling is a setback for freedom of information advocates and, according to Legault, stands to make use of the act more complicated and expensive. "My investigations will be a lot more complex," said Legault, whose office investigates complaints about ...
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B.C. freedom of information watchdog raps BC Ferries for FOI responses - Brandon Sun
B.C. freedom of information watchdog raps BC Ferries for FOI responses - Brandon Sun
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VANCOUVER - B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner says the way BC Ferries is responding to freedom of information requests follows the letter of the law but not necessarily the purpose of the law. Commissioner Elizabeth Denham conducted an ... ...
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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Access to information: PM's privacy has its limits
Access to information: PM's privacy has its limits
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That's the gist of a landmark Supreme Court ruling Friday that clarifies the law and closes the book on a long, complex wrangle that set the Information Commissioner's demand for broad access to Chrétien-era documents against privacy claims by the ...
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
University Systems in Delaware Might Be Dragged into the Sunshine…
University Systems in Delaware Might Be Dragged into the Sunshine…
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Image via Wikipedia
From Delaware Online comes some good legislative news:
The University of Delaware and Delaware State University would be forced to lift a cloak of secrecy surrounding their operations under a bill expected to be introduced in the General Assembly ...
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Expect 'even greater secrecy' in wake of court ruling on PM's agenda
Expect 'even greater secrecy' in wake of court ruling on PM's agenda
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A study released earlier this year by a pair of British Academics ranked Canada at the bottom of the pack when the effectiveness of its freedom-of-information laws were compared to four other parliamentary democracies: Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, ...
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updatedTop court says PM, ministers not subject to info law - CBC.ca
updatedTop court says PM, ministers not subject to info law - CBC.ca
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CBC.ca
updatedTop court says PM, ministers not subject to info law
CBC.ca
All the requests were rejected by the government on the grounds that the offices were protected by exemptions in the legislation and the Privacy Act. When the government denies an access-to-information request, the person who made it can complain to ...
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Friday, May 13, 2011
Top court to rule if PM, ministers beyond reach of Access to ...
Top court to rule if PM, ministers beyond reach of Access to ...
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Duff Conacher of the Democracy Watch advocacy group says the switched allegiances demonstrate that power "corrupts" even principles. On the larger question, ...
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Thursday, May 12, 2011
Alberta's privacy commissioner stepping down
Alberta's privacy commissioner stepping down
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Alberta is on the hunt for a new Information and Privacy Commissioner after the man who has served in the role for the past decade announced he is stepping down. Frank Work has been with the office for all its 16 years and has been commissioner since ...
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Ontario, New Brunswick and Harper up for top secrecy award
Ontario, New Brunswick and Harper up for top secrecy award
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The province of Ontario, New Brunswick's liquor control agency and the Harper government are among this year's nominees for the Canadian Association of Journalists' annual Code of Silence Award. "For their commitment to secrecy, stonewalling and ... ...
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NDP releases e-mails showing Liberal interference in Freedom of Information requests - Globe and Mail
NDP releases e-mails showing Liberal interference in Freedom of Information requests - Globe and Mail
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The New Democrats have uncovered more e-mails they say show Liberal government staff interfering with freedom of information requests. The NDP obtained copies of a media request for a 2009 audit report on the Niagara Parks Commission, a request that ...
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Accessible Government - Now is the Time
Accessible Government - Now is the Time
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The Report Card, featured in the new edition of CJFE's Review of Free Expression in Canada, says government secrecy has worsened in the past 12 months; there are longer delays in responding to information requests and there is a dramatic decline in ...
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DOJ To Hold FOIA Fee Summit
DOJ To Hold FOIA Fee Summit
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The Department of Justice's Office of Information Policy (OIP) has announced that it will host a training session for government employes on the FOIA's fee and fee waiver provisions. This FOIA Fee Summit will be held on May 17, 2011. More information can be found on OIP's ...
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Monday, May 09, 2011
Friday, May 06, 2011
Critics accuse Liberals of secrecy after hospitals exempted from FOI law
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via Google Alerts - "foi" -"ma foi" by The Canadian Press on 5/5/11
TORONTO — Critics say Ontario's Liberals are getting more secretive, despite their claims of making government more open and transparent. Liberals on the finance committee used their majority today to exempt hospitals from the freedom of information ...See all stories on this topic »
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The 1989 effect: Accountability driving demands for change
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via space for transparency by Guest Author on 5/6/11
Cobus de Swardt, Managing Director of TI, writes from Cape Town where he is attending the Africa regional meeting of the World Economic Forum
At WEF Davos in January, the beginning of the revolution in North Africa was on everybody's lips. Four months on in Cape Town, you can see from the ideas being put forward that it is on everyone's minds, especially the organisers who put the very apt title Speaking Truth to Power on one session I spoke at.
In the 1980s, truth spoke to power in the language of human rights a concept that sought to compensate for decades of leaders' failure to hear calls for reform. This language defined and drove the popular demands for change, bringing the Cold War to an end.
Calling on governments to respect human rights was a way for people to tell those in power that nobody is above the law.
In recent years, as the lack of public accountability has been a key driver of the financial and economic crisis, so demands for greater accountability have become a driver for change in their own right.
What we have seen in the past months, and will see in the coming decade, is an irreversible quest for public accountability: one that cannot be co-opted by older ways of thinking, controlled by traditional institutions or misinterpreted by traditional media.
If leaders try to ignore the movement for public accountability, if they try to control the tide for change, they will be overwhelmed by a flood of social movements and social media.
With power sitting with the people, in whatever part of the democratic spectrum a country falls, no amount of political capital from past glories will allow leaders a blank cheque to justify their actions.
We should not talk of people speaking truth to leaders anymore: the onus is on leaders to speak truth to the people.
I think these words spoke to some of the feelings in the room yesterday. Young people in the audience stood out especially with their lack of deference to the established elites. This new generation is telling us that it is time for change, and they are interested only in accountability today and tomorrow, not yesterday.
Theirs is an energy that any movement for accountability must tap.
Everyone is accountable: these are exciting times we live in!
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Thursday, May 05, 2011
Global Integrity Report lowers Canadian federal government's score ...
Global Integrity Report lowers Canadian federal government's score ...
Published on Google Alerts - duff conacher | shared via feedly
... Duff Conacher, Lead Researcher for the Canada report, and Coordinator of Democracy Watch and Assistant Coordinator of the Democracy Education Network. ...
Information Commissioner wants FOI legislation extended
Information Commissioner wants FOI legislation extended
Published on Google Alerts - "foi" -"ma foi" | shared via feedly
Publishing her annual report, Emily O'Reilly said that there had been a seven per cent increase in FOI requests to public bodies over the year, RTÉ reports. She praised the new administration for including in their Programme for Government a commitment ...
See all stories on this topic »
See all stories on this topic »
Cayetano dismayed by delay in passing FoI bill
Cayetano dismayed by delay in passing FoI bill
Published on Google Alerts - "foi" -"ma foi" | shared via feedly
By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano Thursday said Malacañang should realize that its reluctance to adopt the Freedom of Information (FoI) bill is derailing improvements in the country's press freedom ...
See all stories on this topic »
See all stories on this topic »
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Paul Valery
Paul Valery
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"Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them."
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Monday, May 02, 2011
FreedomInfo | Discussions Held in Botswana on Draft FOI Legislation
FreedomInfo | Discussions Held in Botswana on Draft FOI Legislation
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The hope is that a FOI bill will be discussed in the National Assembly during its July sitting. The government last year gave permission for a private bill ...
www.freedominfo.org/.../discussions-held-in-botswana-on-dra... ...
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