BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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Newspapers Canada releases its 2011 Freedom of Information Audit
- A total refusal to release contracts in Winnipeg.
- Quebec’s denial of basic accountability information about top officials’ spending.
- Passenger manifests for Ontario’s executive aircraft.
- The federal government’s stubborn refusal to release data in a useful form.
These are just some of the findings of the Newspapers Canada sixth annual National Freedom of Information Audit, which tests
the openness of governments across the country.
Read the full 2011 Freedom of Information Audit
The British Columbia Angle
Newspapers Canada Notes on British Columbia and Interprovincial Communication
BC Flunks Audit as Officials go into Email Frenzy
“Not only did B.C. prove to be slower than any other province, but when those responsible caught wind of the fact that they
were being measured, they went into a tizzy, piling up hundreds of pages of communications….
But John Hinds, Newspapers Canada’s president and CEO, called the flurry of communication his organization’s audit sparked “kind of amusing, and in a way very troubling.”
The 2011 audit is the largest in the history of the project, with 354 requests on 40 topics sent to all three levels of government as well as to crown corporations and hospitals. At each level of government there were several identical requests.
Institutions were not told they were being audited. The audit grades institutions on the speed and completeness of their responses.
“Because many of the requests were identical, the audit offers a unique comparison of different FOI handling across the country,” said Newspapers Canada chief executive officer John Hinds. “The audit shines a light on uneven practices that are not in line with the spirit of the legislation.”
The project was led by Fred Vallance-Jones, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax. A student audit team submitted and tracked the requests from January to May 2011.
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- A total refusal to release contracts in Winnipeg.
- Quebec’s denial of basic accountability information about top officials’ spending.
- Passenger manifests for Ontario’s executive aircraft.
- The federal government’s stubborn refusal to release data in a useful form.
These are just some of the findings of the Newspapers Canada sixth annual National Freedom of Information Audit, which tests
the openness of governments across the country.
Read the full 2011 Freedom of Information Audit
The British Columbia Angle
Newspapers Canada Notes on British Columbia and Interprovincial Communication
BC Flunks Audit as Officials go into Email Frenzy
“Not only did B.C. prove to be slower than any other province, but when those responsible caught wind of the fact that they
were being measured, they went into a tizzy, piling up hundreds of pages of communications….
But John Hinds, Newspapers Canada’s president and CEO, called the flurry of communication his organization’s audit sparked “kind of amusing, and in a way very troubling.”
The 2011 audit is the largest in the history of the project, with 354 requests on 40 topics sent to all three levels of government as well as to crown corporations and hospitals. At each level of government there were several identical requests.
Institutions were not told they were being audited. The audit grades institutions on the speed and completeness of their responses.
“Because many of the requests were identical, the audit offers a unique comparison of different FOI handling across the country,” said Newspapers Canada chief executive officer John Hinds. “The audit shines a light on uneven practices that are not in line with the spirit of the legislation.”
The project was led by Fred Vallance-Jones, assistant professor of journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax. A student audit team submitted and tracked the requests from January to May 2011.
Categories
Access to InformationTags