Blocking access to information

To date, I have not had any real problem with the PC government led by Premier Kathy Dunderdale.

I was not always a supporter, but on the whole, they were not doing too badly.

That is, until the Bill 29 debacle surfaced. This really bothers me. As a former civil servant, I am all too familiar with the headaches that access to information requests can cause in terms of excavating old files, etc.

Necessary evil

However, I believe now, as I always have, that this is a necessary tool to have in place such that governments, regardless of party affiliation, can be called to account for their actions.

Most people will not seek to avail of this opportunity in their lives, but for those individuals or groups that do, it is imperative that they have this access.

It is what separates Canada from other, less-fortunate countries that rule by “divine” right or elitist privilege in a condescending manner that reeks of the sentiment that “government knows best.”

Most alarming is the clause that allows ministers to reject the release of information contained in requests that they deem “frivolous or vexatious.”

This flies in the very face of the spirit and intent of allowing access to government information.

After all, cabinet documents aside, what is “government information” if it is not the people’s information that is merely being held by the government in power at the moment?

This is unacceptable in a democracy and smacks of secrecy by a governing party in power too long that has adopted elitist and arrogant principles.

It is something I might have expected from Stephen Harper, but not Kathy Dunderdale.

Maybe it won’t be long now, Mr. Speaker, to coin a phrase.