We need more transparency, but we may get less

The City of Hamilton’s handling of identification of a local basketball organization that suffered a COVID-19 outbreak last fall is baffling and worrisome on several levels. Today we will discuss two.

First, we acknowledge that some readers may feel this story is “inside baseball,” a term used in the news business to describe things that may be important but are not of major interest to most average people. But this is more than that, and it should worry anyone who cares about transparency in general and especially during this pandemic.

In case you have not followed Katrina Clarke’s investigation and reporting, the short story is this: Last October, just as the second wave of COVID-19 began to roll through Hamilton, a local elite basketball academy had an outbreak. As is policy, Hamilton Public Health released the outbreak information Oct. 23, but mysteriously chose not to identify the organization involved.

This, despite releasing names when outbreaks have happened at hospital units, schools, long-term-care homes, businesses and industries. Since the beginning of the pandemic, literally hundreds of places have been identified. But, citing privacy considerations, the name of this organization was withheld.

Why? The Spectator tried very hard to find out and when we could not get beyond the vague “privacy” justification, we filed Freedom of Information requests. The city clerk’s office assessed the two FOI requests and released the information, including the academy’s name, Lincoln Prep.

The information in the FOI also included email discussions about the matter that showed that public officials debated the issue. One employee asked if the city was legally obligated to disclose, another suggested only a partial identification. And another made this disturbing comment: “We also do not want to post something that will spark the media to ask a lot of questions.”

But ultimately, the city reported only the “Hamilton-based basketball club” description. Why? What made Lincoln Prep special? What was different about this case compared to so many others? Did Lincoln Prep receive preferential treatment, and if so why? To this day it remains a mystery, although you can be sure The Spectator will continue to pursue the answers.

Even now, public health officials continue to argue releasing the information was wrong. So great is their concern that the city has now hired a consultant to review the matter and make recommendations. This makes this matter even more disturbing.

The Spectator went through all the appropriate FOI hoops, and the city clerk’s office assessed and released the information. And now the city is investigating its own actions and staff decisions. Why?

It is possible the consultant will find that the city erred on the transparency side, but since the city will set the terms of reference, and we know already that the city objects to the information having been released, that seems very unlikely. More likely is the possibility that the consultant will deliver, along with a bill for thousands of dollars, a report that suggests the city was wrong to release the information and suggest ways to avoid that happening in the future.

That is why this is not inside baseball. This is about the possibility that legitimate public information — like the name of the basketball academy that had a serious COVID outbreak — could be withheld in future. In an era when we need more transparency and accountability, this goes in the wrong direction. There are Hamilton city councillors who should care very much about this. And citizens, who foot the bills and ultimately rely on transparency and honesty from local government, should care even more.