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Opposition Leader Gerry Reid, and Opposition Justice Critic Kelvin Parsons,
say the provincial government’s so-called commitment to openness and
transparency in government is an absolute farce, and they should be ashamed
to even make public statements indicating any commitment to openly releasing
information. Reid referenced the fact that yesterday the Department of
Fisheries and Aquaculture sent an invoice to the Opposition related to
Minister Tom Rideout’s travel. The Opposition requested Minister Rideout’s
travel since November, but was refused unless $367.50 was paid in fees. The
bulk of these fees related to approximately 24 hours of search time, more
than three full working days, the department claims it would take to track
down these documents.
"I was absolutely amazed to listen to government say they were committed
to "Right to Know" week, yet turn around and charge the Opposition almost
$400 to get access to Minister Rideout’s travel receipts," said Mr. Reid. "I
have no idea what kind of filing system the Department of Fisheries and
Aquaculture keeps, however, common sense would dictate that all travel claim
documents would be kept in filing cabinets within a close proximity to each
other. I cannot understand how it would take such a long period of time to
find these documents.
"I question what is contained in these documents that Minister Rideout
wants to hide? If there was nothing of significance, I am certain the
minister would have no problem releasing this information. Charging such
excessive fees act as a deterrent for the average person, and I would
suggest this is a common practice of this government. We have already raised
numerous concerns with the Information and Privacy Commissioner regarding
this government’s refusal to provide information. Whether it be through
excessive fees or blacked out documents, it is extremely difficult to get
information. This has continuously acted as an impediment as we, the
Official Opposition, try to do our job effectively with limited financial
resources. This most recent example just highlights the problem even more."
Kelvin Parsons says this government is very hypocritical. He says they
claim to be open and transparent, however, they make it very difficult and
costly to get any information. In some cases, Parsons says, the only reason
information was released was because the Information and Privacy
Commissioner has gotten involved to reduce fees and force the release of
additional information.
"If it wasn’t for the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Office, I
doubt that any information would be released by this government. We just
went through a lengthy process where we complained about excessive fees for
a request at Innovation, Trade and Rural Development, only to have the fees
reduced to approximately $100. After paying these fees, we received
documents that were 90 per cent blacked out. Thankfully, the Information and
Privacy Commissioner forced the release of additional information that was
originally refused by government. Are these the actions of an open and
transparent government? I think not."
Both Parsons and Reid say government is continuously trying to block the
release of information. They also suggest that they should stop deliberately
misleading the people of the province and tell the truth about their lack of
commitment to the Access to Information process. Meanwhile, they say another
in a long list of appeals will be going to the Information and Privacy
Commissioner today regarding the excessive fees being charged for access to
Minister Rideout’s travel documents.
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