Transparency Spotlight

This is a table of over 6,500 Canadian and British Columbian news stories informed through Access to Information requests. You can sort and search the table by using any keyword or select one of ten pre-identified categories.

Transparency Spotlight shows the important role access to information plays in research and reporting to keep our institutions transparent and accountable. It catalogues the government decisions, municipal policies, university governance, police surveillance, provincial energy sector projects, national security, and other decisions and actions that were hidden until revealed through access to information requests. These stories empowered all of us to keep people and institutions accountable.

Journalists often make extensive use of transparency laws to go beyond official talking points and dig deeper into issues of public interest. Researchers and organizations also share the results of records requests with media outlets in order to inform a public conversation. The stories highlight the breadth of topics that can be explored through access to information, supplies inspiration for researchers interested in following up on earlier investigative work, and serves as a reminder of why we must act to defend and improve transparency laws through law reform.

FIPA has created this searchable resource based on a scan of access to information news. The original methodology for that scan is available here. Most were identified from Canadian Newsstream and the Canadian Business & Current Affairs (CBCA) databases available through public and university library websites.

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News Stories Table

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Details	wdt_ID	Author	Date of Publication	Media Outlet	Title	Category Name	Story summary
More details	1	Bruce Campion-Smith	09/04/2010	Toronto Star	Travellers to foot airport police bill Transport Canada does away with subsidy to patrol terminals at eight major airports	RCMP, CRIME, LAW ENFORCEMENT	Transport Canada has quietly eliminated funding to the country's major airports to hire police officers to patrol the terminals, leaving passengers footing the bill. Transport Canada is ending its "airport policing contribution program," which gave the country's eight busiest airports $15.6 million a year to offset the cost of hiring police officers to patrol the terminals. The Star filed an ATIA request with Transport Canada; the department responded, revealing that funding for police officers in airports was on the chopping block. In a briefing note it argues that ending the security subsidy would allow the department to focus on its core mandate. "Transferring responsibility for funding security at airports will assist Transport Canada to shift toward a more effective regulatory approach, focus on its core mandate and streamline its activities," it said.
More details	2	Bruce Campion-Smith	26/10/2018	Toronto Star	RCAF considered using air marshals: Idea was to deter bad behaviour on VIP flights, documents reveal	RCMP, CRIME, LAW ENFORCEMENT	The air force considered putting air marshals on military VIP flights to deter bad behaviour by passengers in the wake of a troubled trip where drunk travellers posed a safety risk. The suggestion, to "address inappropriate passenger behaviour immediately" was one of five recommendations developed by the Royal Canadian Air Force after a flight resulted in charges against retired NHL star Dave "Tiger" Williams. In the end, the RCAF backed away from that recommendation but implemented other changes to avoid a repeat of the "significant" events on the now infamous Team Canada flight that was carrying athletes, musicians and business people to visit and entertain troops deployed overseas. Some passengers were so drunk that air force personnel feared they would be a safety hazard in the event of an emergency, say documents obtained by the Star via the ATIA
More details	3	Bruce Campion-Smith	20/01/2015	Toronto Star	Top-secret site was secured by padlock: Ottawa firefighters easily cut lock to gain entry to high-security CSEC campus, documents reveal	SECURITY - INTELLIGENCE, TERRORISM, CSIS	An Ottawa fire revealed that one of Ottawa's most secret installations had an "extreme vulnerability" as it was being constructed - a back gate secured by only a simple padlock. Ottawa fire crews responding to the blaze cut open the lock and swung open the gate to gain access to the campus of Communications Security Establishment Canada. In the wake of the fire, which caused only minor damage, officials at the CSE fretted that news of the easy access would leak out. And after the Star requested documents related to the incident, agency staff sought to clamp down on the release of all potential security shortfalls with dire warnings that any disclosures would leave the agency vulnerable to "attack." Yet in an administrative mistake, the agency provided all that information to the Star - highlighting the sensitive details but not deleting them from the documents provided under an ATIA request.
More details	4	Bruce Campion-Smith	08/10/2004	Toronto Star	{**} Ventilation issues on subs raised in '03	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	More than a year before the deadly fire aboard HMCS Chicoutimi, the captain of a sister ship raised serious concerns about the poor ventilation in the subs. The concerns are revealed in reports by the skipper of HMCS Victoria as it steamed from Halifax to its new base in Victoria in summer, 2003. The captain was saying he was really concerned about the safety and welfare of his people," said Conservative MP Bill Casey, who obtained the documents under ATIA. During the long voyage to Victoria, the hot weather in the Caribbean and lack of air circulation meant "living conditions quickly deteriorated" as temperatures in parts of the submarine soared to 65C, according to a report from the sub. Casey wonders if the poor ventilation played a role in the aftermath of the devastating electrical fire on the Chicoutimi, when its tight confines filled with smoke. Nine crew members suffered smoke inhalation.
More details	5	Bruce Campion-Smith	11/01/2005	Toronto Star	{*} Army brass stonewalling sniper probe, Marin says; Document access being blocked, watchdog claims Canadian soldiers shunned after tour of Afghanistan	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Gen. Ray Henault, the chief of defence staff, asked Andre Marin to investigate complaints that snipers, who served with U.S. forces for part of their time in Afghanistan, were treated poorly by the forces and their comrades once they returned to Canada. DND said the army was committed to helping Marin's probe and said 10 more transcripts would be on their way to the ombudsman's office next week.... Military documents obtained by the Toronto Star under the ATIA suggest there were problems in the sniper unit, including an allegation the sniper squad was involved in the desecration of dead bodies. Pictures were found showing a body with a "F--- Terrorism" sign on his chest, a cigarette in the mouth and a missing index finger. A military investigation confirmed the indignities but there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone. At no time were the snipers given stress counselling when they returned to camp.
More details	6	Bruce Campion-Smith	31/01/2005	Toronto Star	Won't let Canadians be taken for granted; NDP in no hurry for vote, but ready; Wants key issues addressed in budget	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	The NDP is hoping to use two key issues - combating climate change and stopping Canada's involvement in the U.S.-led missile defence program - to raise the profile of its 19-member caucus.... Documents suggest Canada was close to announcing a deal on missile defence last spring, before the election. "Significant progress has been made in a short period of time Canada-U.S. BMD (ballistic missile defence) agreement within reach," states one paper prepared by the foreign affairs department. Another document, released under the ATIA, declares the "security of Canada and the U.S. are indivisible. "It is therefore in our mutual interest to expand co-operation ... for the aerospace defence of North America to include missile defence."
More details	7	Bruce Campion-Smith	18/07/2005	Toronto Star	{**} Nerve gas tests revealed; Document outlines Canadian tests 75 soldiers, scientists exposed to sarin, VX gas, papers show no follow- up on health effects of 40-year-old project	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Scientists and soldiers crawled through terrain contaminated with deadly VX nerve agents and exposed themselves to the dangerous chemicals to understand how they worked, documents show. Military officials say the tests, done in the 1950s and '60s and involving up to 75 people, would never be allowed today. But it was a different story 40 years ago, as scientists worked to understand these deadly nerve agents amidst fears that the Cold War would turn Europe into a chemical battleground. News that humans had been subjected to nerve agent testing sparked an outcry in 1988, led by the NDP, but the government clamped down on the release of information. Officials have said that virtually no one's health was affected by the tests, but they admit that they're not doing any follow-up today.
More details	8	Bruce Campion-Smith	30/12/2005	Toronto Star	{*} Opium Old enemy, new threats; Afghanistan's big business finances warlords, terror Canadian troops find poppy trade flourishing	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Canadian troops headed to Afghanistan won't tackle what some military commanders have called the biggest security threat facing the country - the flourishing drug trade. Afghanistan's opium business is the livelihood for millions of residents, a mainstay of its economy and even the financing for the insurgency that has put Canadian soldiers in the crosshairs, according to Ottawa's own intelligence assessments. "Narcotics profits (are) integral to militant attacks," warned a report from the federal integrated threat assessment centre. "The Afghan narcotics industry is thriving," read the heavily censored report, obtained under ATIA by the Toronto Star's Michelle Shephard. "We do not see the military role as involved in the eradication of drugs. That is very much a police function," the defense minister said.
More details	9	Bruce Campion-Smith	08/03/2006	Toronto Star	Canada's troops to stay, says PM; Harper expects national support Drugs help fund terrorist attacks	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	A top-secret Canadian threat assessment warns that Afghanistan's lucrative narcotics trade is helping fund terrorist attacks in the country. Analysts with the federal Integrated Threat Assessment Centre prepared a classified evaluation spelling out the links between such terrorist activity and the Asian country's vast poppy fields that yield opium, the main ingredient of heroin. A heavily edited version of the report was obtained by The Canadian Press under the ATIA. "The Afghan narcotics industry is thriving," the report says. "In 2004, 10 per cent of Afghanistan's population, 2.3 million people, were involved in poppy cultivation." The Afghan drug trade was worth $2.8 billion (U.S.) in 2004, more than doubling in value since 2002, it notes.
More details	10	Bruce Campion-Smith	03/07/2006	Toronto Star	{*} Military took its own shots of slain soldiers	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	A defence department edict barring the reporters and photographers from witnessing the return of soldiers' bodies at an air force base didn't stop military photographers from snapping their own photos - of the media and the coffins. Close-up pictures of reporters at work, television satellite trucks lining the road and the hearses being unloaded from a military aircraft were among the images obtained by the Star via an ATIA request. In a controversial decision criticized by even some of the victims' families, the Conservatives barred the media from the base in Trenton to cover the repatriation of four soldiers killed in Afghanistan. In previous repatriation ceremonies, the media had been allowed onto the airport tarmac but had kept well away from grieving relatives.
More details	11	Bruce Campion-Smith	19/08/2006	Toronto Star	Marching into battle, trained and ready to fight; A new commander for Canada's troops in Afghanistan Next contingent of soldiers in process of shipping out	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	The difficult mission and mounting death toll - 26 Canadians killed in Afghanistan since 2002 - has raised the stakes for the Conservative government, which has just extended Canada's commitment to the country through to 2009 despite divided public opinion. Ottawa's polling of Canadians on foreign policy, obtained by the Star through the ATIA, revealed deep divides in public opinion when it came to battling the terror threat. A narrow majority - 55 per cent - opposed providing more assistance to the U.S. in the war against terrorism while just 18 per cent "strongly agree," according to a survey of 2,024 Canadians by the foreign affairs department. The results are contained in the department's annual "communications survey."
More details	12	Bruce Campion-Smith	26/08/2006	Toronto Star	Army able to deploy more troops; Canadian heroes tried to 'make a change in these countries so people could live in peace'	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Canada has 1,200 troops available to respond to global missions, a military briefing note says, contradicting claims by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor that the army is stretched too thin to consider other big deployments. His briefing book was obtained by the NDP under the ATIA. It states that the Forces can remain in Afghanistan and at the same time have a contingent of soldiers ready "for other possible missions the Government may wish to consider. "The Canadian Forces currently have the capacity to maintain two land task forces for potential deployment to two different theatres of operation," it says. O'Connor had used the excuse of an overstretched military to deflect calls to send troops to help with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan
More details	13	Bruce Campion-Smith	31/10/2006	Toronto Star	Canada commits six jets to NATO; CF-18s could end up in Afghanistan Critics accuse government of flip-flop	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Just a month after the defence department denied any plans to dispatch CF-18 fighter jets to Afghanistan, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has opened the door to a possible deployment. Last month, O'Connor said he was not aware of any proposal to send the fighter jets. "I think I can deny it because no one's even brought it across my desk," he told Ottawa radio station CFRA. But department emails indicate that even the top air force general was uncomfortable with the hard-line denial issued. "(Chief of air staff) is concerned that this statement has painted us into a corner for future, if for instance, our allies who currently provide support pull out," reads an email from one air force official, obtained under the ATIA. The emails also confirm that the defence department was making preparations as far back as January to deploy CF-18s.
More details	14	Bruce Campion-Smith	19/02/2007	Toronto Star	CF-18 jets are mission-ready; Documents show deployment plans to Afghanistan set, but orders unlikely	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Canada's air force has detailed plans to deploy six CF-18s fighter jets to Kandahar, even to the point of predicting how many so-called "smart" bombs would be needed for a six-month air campaign battling insurgents, documents show. Defence officials say they have no intention of sending the fighters overseas. But military memos and orders obtained by the Star make it clear that extensive planning has laid the groundwork for a deployment should the Conservative government give the okay. But just over a year ago - as Canada's army units made the move to Kandahar from Kabul - it seemed certain the air force's front- line fighter would be deployed to join them in an operation expected to cost $18 million, documents obtained under the ATIA show.
More details	15	Bruce Campion-Smith	20/02/2007	Waterloo Region Record	Opposition questions troop rotations	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Canada's military has planned troop rotations to Afghanistan through to 2011 -- two years past the current commitment, prompting opposition questions about whether the Conservatives intend to extend the mission. But military planners insist no decisions have been made and say they're just doing some blue-sky thinking to organize their military manpower. Still, the proposed rotations, planned past May 2011, prompted questions from the NDP, who obtained the details in army documents released under the ATIA. "It is hard to see where civilian oversight is taking place at DND. How can the military plan rotations that Parliament has not approved?" asked NDP MP Dawn Black. Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor said the Conservative government has made no plans to extend the mission past 2009.
More details	16	Bruce Campion-Smith	21/04/2007	Toronto Star	Putting 'Muslim face' on fight	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Canadian diplomats and defence officials have made overtures to the United Arab Emirates to contribute military personnel and equipment to Afghanistan in a bid to put a "Muslim face" on the mission. And according to a defence department briefing note, they got a welcome reception with the small Arab nation signalling it was interested in contributing a "small tactical unit." "The UAE also wishes to contribute to reconstructive efforts," read the document, obtained by the NDP under the ATIA. The document cheered the possibility that the UAE could join the International Security Assistance Force mission, which already boasts 35,000 troops from 37 nations. "This development could have very significant positive effects on the situation in Kandahar, especially if it leads to greater involvement of the UAE in the area of operations," it said.
More details	17	Bruce Campion-Smith	04/06/2007	Toronto Star	Military police gun for additional staff; Defence department documents paint picture of branch under stress	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	As the Canadian Forces woos thousands of new recruits, military detectives are looking for a few good men and women of their own to help with sensitive investigations within the department. The National Investigation Service (NIS), an arm of the military police that probes everything from deaths in Afghanistan to reports of detainee abuse, is feeling the strain and needs extra staff, say defence department documents obtained by the Star. A report warned that the branch's 120 members are "not sufficient to meet our mission" and said an additional 28 military staff and eight civilian employees were needed for the NIS to do its job in an "effective and efficient manner." "There is no indication as to when or if the additional (persons) will be authorized," said a study of the NIS done a year ago, obtained under the ATIA
More details	18	Bruce Campion-Smith	02/01/2009	Toronto Star	{*} Troops lured by drug trade, report warns; Military cites 'high probability' some Canadians will become drug traffickers while in Afghanistan	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	There's a "high probability" some Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan - one of the world's biggest sources of illegal drugs - will get involved in the drug trade, a military police report warns. "Access to illicit drugs in Afghanistan is routine," reads the report obtained by the Star. "Easy access to heroin, hashish, cannabis presents a temptation for (Canadian) troops in the form of personal use and in the form of importation for the purpose of trafficking," it reads. It notes that using and trafficking drugs are illegal and "contrary to the ethos" of the Canadian Forces, but concedes some of the 2,500 troops serving in the war-torn nation might not be able to resist. The findings are outlined in a series of military police documents obtained by the Star under the ATIA
More details	19	Bruce Campion-Smith	15/08/2011	Toronto Star	DND bulks up on suits, not troops: Ranks of bureaucrats swell nearly four times as fast as those of soldiers	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	Since 2004 - as the country's mission in Afghanistan was ramping up - a Star analysis shows dramatic growth in the department took place far from the front lines, with more civilians, more contractors and a ballooning headquarters staff. Military experts say the numbers tell the tale of a bureaucracy run amok, even as the department's uniform ranks - especially the navy - remain stretched for manpower.... It's believed a new blueprint prepared by Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, the military's chief of transformation, puts the headquarters in the crosshairs. During the preparation of his report, Leslie crunched numbers on the growth in staffing in all areas of the department. And he probed the rise in spending on contracts and consultants. The Star obtained much of that analysis under the ATIA, but the detailed tables had been censored.
More details	20	Bruce Campion-Smith	13/02/2013	Toronto Star	Air force pondered scrapping Challenger: Debate over repair cost after aging jet hit bird	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	A vulture nearly proved the death knell of a military Challenger jet. While the aircraft survived hitting the big bird in midflight, the "massive" damage it suffered prompted a debate within air force ranks whether to repair the aging executive jet or simply write it off. With the fate of the six-jet Challenger fleet in question, senior officers were reluctant to lay out almost $100,000 to repair the jet's crumpled nose and damaged electronics, according to documents obtained by the Star under the ATIA. One officer referred to an earlier assessment that concluded the 29-year-old aircraft - the oldest in the Challenger fleet - is "uneconomical and should be replaced or grounded."
More details	21	Bruce Campion-Smith	30/07/2014	Toronto Star	Foreign pilots generating 'significant' savings: Recruitment by RCAF bridges experience gap in Canadian flyers, briefing note says	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	The Royal Canadian Air Force reaps "significant" savings by hiring foreign military pilots to fly its aircraft, a briefing note says. Thanks to their past experience flying transport aircraft, fighter jets or helicopters, foreign pilots can quickly take place in the cockpits of Canadian military aircraft. "They represent significant training cost avoidance and immediately bolster the . . . occupation to which they are enrolled," reads the note, obtained under the ATIA. It was prepared for the chief of defence staff, the day after a Star story detailed how Canada's air force has been recruiting pilots from foreign countries to train Canadian pilots, as well as fly on operational missions around the globe. It sets out how the air force has used the expertise of foreign pilots to bolster its operations.
More details	22	Bruce Campion-Smith	06/09/2018	Toronto Star	Secretive culture impeded probe of wrongdoing: inquiry	NATIONAL DEFENSE, ARMY, AIR FORCE	The secretive, tight-knit culture of Canada's special forces units undermined accountability and impeded an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing by its soldiers during the Afghan conflict, a military inquiry has found. In dealing with allegations of assault and even murder arising from operations in Afghanistan, special forces soldiers and commanders were reluctant to raise the potential misconduct with military outsiders. It was only after the allegations of "numerous criminal acts" were raised with the ombudsman's office in 2008 that a military police investigation was launched…. But a separate board of inquiry flagged problems with what it painted as an overly secretive culture of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The inquiry's summary, heavily censored in parts, was released by the defence department under the ATIA, five years after it was completed.
More details	23	Bruce Campion-Smith	14/12/2012	Toronto Star	Software woes could 'cripple' rescue efforts: Military officials warn outdated tech may force use of 'pencil and paper' amid crisis	NAVY, COAST GUARD, SEARCH & RESCUE, HELICOPTERS	Military search-and-rescue experts may soon be resorting to "pencil and paper" to organize complex rescue missions because the outdated software they rely on now is facing "critical failure," documents obtained by the Star warn. Senior military commanders are sounding the alarm over the state of the software used to co-ordinate rescues nationwide, saying it is vital to a speedy response when Canadians call for help. "Should this software fail . . . our (rescue centres) would be effectively crippled and have virtually no ability to prosecute SAR cases in an expeditious manner," wrote Air Force Maj.-Gen. Yvan Blondin in a memo. Blondin, now head of the Royal Canadian Air Force, wrote that the software is "rapidly approaching obsolescence and will be completely unsupportable within the next three years," in documents obtained by the Star under the ATIA
More details	24	Bruce Campion-Smith	05/03/2016	Toronto Star	What shall we do with our drunken sailors?: Alcohol-fuelled misbehaviour forced navy to send ship home	NAVY, COAST GUARD, SEARCH & RESCUE, HELICOPTERS	A port visit in 2014 turned into a publicity nightmare for the Royal Canadian Navy. And the alcohol-fuelled troubles of three sailors sparked some deep reflections within navy ranks, prompting one commander to write that a "hard reset" of attitudes was needed. The incidents involving the crew of HMCS Whitehorse in 2014 were well-publicized at the time. But documents released to the Star under the ATIA after more than a year shed some new light on the discipline woes. The coastal defence vessel, based in Esquimalt, B.C., was slated to take part in RIMPAC, billed as the world's largest maritime exercise. But the ship's mission was cut short by three weeks because of the onshore exploits of its sailors during a port visit in San Diego. One sailor was held overnight in a police drunk tank; another was arrested for shoplifting and held for several days in a local jail
More details	25	Bruce Campion-Smith	07/03/2005	Toronto Star	Missile plan called best for Canada	FOREIGN AFFAIRS	Saying yes to missile defence would have ensured some protection for Canada from a possible missile attack, a top security adviser told Liberal MPs in a secret briefing. Jim Wright, the assistant deputy minister in charge of global security policy at the Department of Foreign Affairs, had blunt words when he spoke to a special caucus session convened to debate Ottawa's involvement in the U.S.-led program.... Close co-operation would give Canada "improved insight" into how the system works and limited influence over how it would be used, he said. "This would help to ensure that Canadian interests are taken into account as the system develops," Wright said in speaking notes obtained by the Star under the ATIA. "It would also allow us to make informed decisions about how our future co-operation with the U.S. should evolve," he said. Wright said Ottawa's involvement would deliver practical results - the protection of Canada.
		Author	Date of Publication	Media Outlet