Wall government should improve transparency

By law, you have to pay taxes. But unfortunately, there’s no law that says the government has to explain to you how those funds are being used. Well, that’s not exactly true. There’s a law, but it’s so full of holes that you can drive a truck through it.

Transparency is a pretty simple concept that most people would probably agree with. However, transparency is one area where the Wall government needs to improve.

Journalists, members of the public and non-profit taxpayer watchdog groups like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation use “Freedom of Information” legislation (passed by all provin- cial governments, and the federal government), to investigate government activities nation-wide. In short, the legislation allows people to fill out simple forms and obtain documents from the government.

The process isn’t always straightforward though. There are many clauses in the legislation that allow the government to withhold information. Some clauses are understandable as you shouldn’t be able to get your neighbor’s health records, a business’s private information or military secrets.

The problem in Saskatchewan is that the provincial bureaucracy is using excuse clauses in the legislation too often and the spirit of the act isn’t being followed. The result – basic information is being withheld.

Consider the case of the Regina Bypass initiative – a massive roadway project that the government touts as “the largest transportation infrastructure project in Saskatchewan’s history.” Given the significance of the billion-dollar roadway plan, one would expect the government to be transparent with most of the details. Especially as the roadway project is hardly a sensitive matter like a military document related to defending Canada’s borders.

Disappointingly, the Saskatchewan government hasn’t been too transparent with details related to the project. Back in April, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation started to look into the bypass plan after people watching the initiative closely claimed to us that the design chosen could cost “$100 million” more than necessary.

We asked the government for briefing notes or presentations provided to the Minister of Highways. Such documents would likely outline the pros and cons, as well as costs, for each design option for the project. The government responded to our request by claiming the documents were confidential. While we did receive some information through other requests, plenty of details were blacked out. The lack of disclosure was quite absurd.

Another great example of the government failing to be transparent involves information requests we filed to find out how the government is preparing for our nation’s aging demographic. In particular, we wanted to know the financial impact for the health care system and what the government had forecast.

Incredibly, the government responded with 72 pages of information, but blacked out 66 of the pages.

Make no mistake, the Wall government didn’t create the government’s Freedom of Information Legislation. The legislation has been around for decades and governments of all political stripe across the country have used excuse clauses to keep reasonable information secret.

But what the Wall government should be doing is improving the legislation. They should look at ways to restrict the use of excuse clauses and give Saskatchewan’s Information Commissioner the power to force bureaucrats to release information. The Wall government could also look at proactively releasing more reports in the first place.

If you like the idea of watchdogs having access to more government information, then start hounding your local MLA to act on these concerns. Remind them that you don’t have any choice but to pay your taxes, so they shouldn’t have any choice but to tell you what they’re doing with them.