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David Suzuki, Rafe Mair and Gordon Gibson support Freedom of Information by becoming “Friends of FOI”
BC’s Campaign for Open Government has released the first group of signatories to its “Declaration by the Friends of FOI.” Included in the list are such notable British Columbians as Dr. David Suzuki, political commentators Rafe Mair and Gordon Gibson, and Mel Rothenburger, editor of the Kamloops Daily News.
Prof. Alasdair Roberts, the world’s leading FOI researcher, has also signed the declaration. Roberts is the author of “Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age”.
The formation of the Friends of FOI is the first step towards creating an ongoing constituency of Freedom of Information supporters in BC, says campaign spokesperson Darrell Evans.
“Freedom of Information is constantly under attack by governments themselves, and that is the case right now in BC,” said Evans. “The main difficulty in defending FOI has been the lack of a clear demonstration of the long-term, non-partisan support for FOI. The diversity of this list shows how much support there is across the entire political spectrum for the citizens’ right to access government information.”
“Now we need to see the BC government fulfill its promise to support Freedom of Information by strengthening the FOI Act, reforming its administration, and restoring funding to the officials who respond to, and oversee, FOI requests.”
The current Friends of FOI are:
- Stewart B. Alsgard, Mayor, Powell River
- David Beers Editor, The Tyee
- Andrew Britton, City Councillor, View Royal
- George Chow, City Councillor, Vancouver
- Kathy Corrigan, School Board Trustee, Burnaby
- Dean Fortin, City Councillor, Victoria
- David Gollob, VP of Public Affairs, Canadian Newspaper Association
- Gordon Gibson, Political commentator; Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
- Carmen Gustafson, City Councillor, Golden
- Sean Holman, Editor, Public Eye Online; Host, Public Eye Radio
- Raymond Louie, City Councillor, Vancouver
- Sara MacIntyre, BC Director, Canadian Taxpayers Association
- Rafe Mair, Political commentator; Former Social Credit cabinet minister
- Jack McLeman, City Councillor, Port Alberni
- Sue Powell, City Councillor, Parksville
- Murray Rankin, QC, Heenan Blaikie; former Special FOI Advisor to the BC Government
- Mel Rothenburger, Editor, Daily News in Kamloops; Former Mayor, Kamloops
- Calvin Sandborn, Legal Director, University of Victoria Environmental Law Clinic
- Kennedy Stewart, Assistant Professor, Graduate Public Policy Program, Simon Fraser University
- Dr. David Suzuki, Founder, Suzuki Foundation; Host, The Nature of Things
- Stephen J. A. Ward, PhD; Acting Director, UBC School of Journalism; Associate Professor of Journalism Ethics
“The Campaign for Open Government is a broad coalition working to strengthen Freedom of Information in BC,” Evans added. “We want to thank the current signatories, and ask citizens and opinion leaders to visit our website, http://www.opengovernment.ca , to show their support for FOI.”
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BC’s Campaign for Open Government has released the first group of signatories to its “Declaration by the Friends of FOI.” Included in the list are such notable British Columbians as Dr. David Suzuki, political commentators Rafe Mair and Gordon Gibson, and Mel Rothenburger, editor of the Kamloops Daily News.
Prof. Alasdair Roberts, the world’s leading FOI researcher, has also signed the declaration. Roberts is the author of “Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age”.
The formation of the Friends of FOI is the first step towards creating an ongoing constituency of Freedom of Information supporters in BC, says campaign spokesperson Darrell Evans.
“Freedom of Information is constantly under attack by governments themselves, and that is the case right now in BC,” said Evans. “The main difficulty in defending FOI has been the lack of a clear demonstration of the long-term, non-partisan support for FOI. The diversity of this list shows how much support there is across the entire political spectrum for the citizens’ right to access government information.”
“Now we need to see the BC government fulfill its promise to support Freedom of Information by strengthening the FOI Act, reforming its administration, and restoring funding to the officials who respond to, and oversee, FOI requests.”
The current Friends of FOI are:
- Stewart B. Alsgard, Mayor, Powell River
- David Beers Editor, The Tyee
- Andrew Britton, City Councillor, View Royal
- George Chow, City Councillor, Vancouver
- Kathy Corrigan, School Board Trustee, Burnaby
- Dean Fortin, City Councillor, Victoria
- David Gollob, VP of Public Affairs, Canadian Newspaper Association
- Gordon Gibson, Political commentator; Senior Fellow, Fraser Institute
- Carmen Gustafson, City Councillor, Golden
- Sean Holman, Editor, Public Eye Online; Host, Public Eye Radio
- Raymond Louie, City Councillor, Vancouver
- Sara MacIntyre, BC Director, Canadian Taxpayers Association
- Rafe Mair, Political commentator; Former Social Credit cabinet minister
- Jack McLeman, City Councillor, Port Alberni
- Sue Powell, City Councillor, Parksville
- Murray Rankin, QC, Heenan Blaikie; former Special FOI Advisor to the BC Government
- Mel Rothenburger, Editor, Daily News in Kamloops; Former Mayor, Kamloops
- Calvin Sandborn, Legal Director, University of Victoria Environmental Law Clinic
- Kennedy Stewart, Assistant Professor, Graduate Public Policy Program, Simon Fraser University
- Dr. David Suzuki, Founder, Suzuki Foundation; Host, The Nature of Things
- Stephen J. A. Ward, PhD; Acting Director, UBC School of Journalism; Associate Professor of Journalism Ethics
“The Campaign for Open Government is a broad coalition working to strengthen Freedom of Information in BC,” Evans added. “We want to thank the current signatories, and ask citizens and opinion leaders to visit our website, http://www.opengovernment.ca , to show their support for FOI.”
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