Fortuitous timing for secrecy award
Timing is everything in life, politics included.
And this adage couldn’t be more applicable than to the questionable distinction awarded to Niagara Region on Monday in downtown St. Catharines by a quartet of national journalism and free expression organizations.
During the morning news conference, Jim Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression (CFE) at Ryerson University, announced Niagara Region is the national winner of the annual “Code of Silence” award for “outstanding achievement in government secrecy.”
Jointly given by the CFE, the Canadian Association for Journalists, News Media Canada and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the award couldn’t have gone to a more deserving governmental organization. The awards jury, which comprised representatives of the four press-freedom advocacy groups, recognized the regional municipality with this citation:
“Regional Municipality of Niagara wins the 2018 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy for delaying or denying FOI requests and forcing lengthy and expensive appeal processes, as well as refusing to communicate with local media on issues of public interest. Extensive coverage by Grant LaFleche, reporter for St. Catharines newspaper The Standard, exposes secrecy around council members’ expenses and refusals to speak on high profile public issues, as well as requests from several council members to fire The Standard’s management and replace them with those more compliant with Regional Municipality of Niagara’s wants.
“This past year has seen Regional Municipality of Niagara as the subject of two Ontario Ombudsman investigations: the first, for an unlawful seizure of a reporter’s notes at a council meeting, and most recently, suspicions of a tainted hiring process for a high paying chief administrative officer job.”
“In a democracy, the public has a right to know,” said Turk. “It has a right to expect transparency from its public institutions. We have access to information laws to ensure that, but those laws are inadequate.
“We hope to shine as bright a spotlight as possible on government agencies that fail in their responsibility to the public.”
In Niagara’s case, the council expenses issue stands out. The Standard reported extensively on the issue in the past year finding councillors were billing taxpayers for pricey dinners, charitable donations and trips to Toronto to appear on radio programs.
After initially opening up and posting expense claim details on the regional website, the approach was changed early in 2018. The Region still publishes expenses online, but the data is stripped of receipts and other documentation that would provide understanding of what is being claimed and whether or not it is appropriate. To access that information, the Region requires news media and residents to file a freedom of information request.
Senior leaders at the Region regularly refuse to answer questions on sensitive issues, such as Regional Chair Alan Caslin’s ongoing refusal to discuss his expenses. Regional leaders have tried behind the scenes to have senior management at Niagara’s daily news replaced, among other attempts to manipulate news coverage and what reaches the public ear.
Indeed, as this term of council has progressed, the lack of transparency has increasingly worsened. Ratepayers in Niagara deserve better.
And that’s why the timing of this award is fortuitous. With less than a week to go until this year’s municipal election, the award is a reminder to Niagara voters about what is at stake on Monday, Oct. 22.
More of the same opaque, unaccountable, back-room dealing leadership? Or should we be voting for those who will open the shutters at regional headquarters and allow the taxpayers to see what they’re paying for?
It’s your choice.