Province again refuses to release results of pension consultations
For a second time in as many months, Alberta's finance ministry has refused to release what the public has told it regarding a potential Alberta pension plan through responses to government surveys.
Last month, Postmedia filed a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) seeking complete copies of the pension workbooks introduced by the government near the end of last year.
Last week, dozens of pages of records were returned but with all answers redacted.
In withholding the information, FOIP officials cited section 24(1) of the FOIP Act that allows for exemptions or exclusions based on advice, proposals, recommendations, analyses or policy options.
It's the same section of the act cited last month when Postmedia was denied access to the results of the government's online survey regarding a possible Alberta pension plan.
Section 24(2) of the act states the exemption in section 24(1) doesn't apply to statistical survey data.
Postmedia has filed a request for review with the office of the information and privacy commissioner (OIPC) regarding both requests.
`NO DISCRETION TO WITHHOLD'
There is also precedent to support the release of the information.
In 2008, an applicant successfully appealed to the information and privacy commissioner after being denied a request seeking the results of a public opinion survey on employment standards by Alberta Employment and Immigration, which also cited section 24(1).
OIPC adjudicator Wade Riordan Raaflaub ruled in favour of the applicant, and specifically cited the policy advice clause in rejecting the department's arguments that it could retain the records.
“Regardless of whether a statistical survey reveals advice or any other type of information enumerated in section 24(1), a public body has no discretion to withhold the information in reliance on section 24(1),” the ruling states.
He ordered it to release the files to the applicant.
More recently, other government departments have not had difficulty providing responses to similar FOIP requests from Postmedia.
In January, the ministry of municipal affairs provided both summary data of multiple choice responses as well as hundreds of individual long-form answers to its survey on adding party affiliation to ballots in municipal elections.
Last April, and again in September, the Preston Manning-led Public Health Emergencies Governance Review Panel returned several hundred pages worth of replies to its survey asking for feedback on how the government should approach future public health emergencies.
An unsigned email from communications staff stated, “the panel will be using the input gathered from the telephone town halls and the online survey and workbook to advise executive council. As such, the responses from the engagement activities are considered advice to the government and cabinet.”
It stated 676 workbooks have been received to date and did not address questions about section 24(2) or past survey results that have been returned.
Last August, privacy commissioner Diane Mcleod launched what will be a year-long, government-wide investigation into the handling of FOIP requests.
`NOT SURPRISED'
Opposition finance critic Shannon Phillips said the government has shown a pattern of ignoring the results of consultations it does not like.
“The government will go to any lengths to cover up what they've heard from Albertans. And, I am not surprised that they have denied this freedom of information request, as they denied the previous one.”
There's been little evidence to date indicating the concept of a provincial pension plan is gaining traction with the public as seen in responses in telephone town halls as well as opinion polling, the Opposition NDP'S town halls, emails to the premier's office, and internal government reports indicating government flyers were being mailed back to the premier's office.
Alberta has paused its live pension plan engagement sessions until the office of the chief actuary of Canada provides its estimate of Alberta's potential asset withdrawal from the Canada Pension Plan, something Premier Danielle Smith has said she expects in the fall.