Editorial — Actions don’t always match words on ‘right to know’

TUESDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — This, in case you didn’t know, is Right to Know Week.

Andrew Wilkinson, B.C.’s Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services, says the week “underscores the importance of access to information in British Columbia. The public’s right to understand what government is doing is a cornerstone of our democratic process.”

It’s Right to Know Week not just in B.C., but all of Canada. In fact, 100 countries and 60 non-governmental organizations celebrate International Right to Know Day, which is Sept. 28.

Suzanne Legault, the Information Commissioner of Canada, says “As we celebrate Right to Know, I want to stress how important this right is. Canadians should not take it for granted. It is the role and the responsibility of all of us to champion the cause of transparency and to nurture a culture of openness in Canada.”

Unfortunately, actions by politicians don’t always match the advice of people such as Legault. The Harper government has been characterized by its penchant for controlling the message. Scientists aren’t allowed to speak publicly about their research. A Globe and Mail report last week raised issues about consultation in Supreme Court appointments.

In B.C., let’s mention just on thing that’s particularly irksome to the media but should be to the public, as well. We noted in a story Monday about the requested public-input session on Ajax that we had received a reply from the Ministry of Environment that did not specify an individual as the source.

That is common practice for the B.C. Liberal government, which prefers to answer media inquiries by email, attributed to unanimous sources in various ministries. To be fair, the government’s communications officers are usually prompt about getting answers, though those answers are often skimpy on detail.

In one memorable exchange, a government official actually answered our media call. Picked up his phone. He listened to the question, then declined to answer because he isn’t allowed to answer media questions. He referred the questions to a communications officer, who then got the answers from the person who had talked directly to the media in the first place. The CO then provided those answers to the journalist who had asked the questions, but without direct attribution.

Maybe Minister Wilkinson could explain how that squares with our right to understand what government is doing. Access to information takes on many forms, one of which is being able to go direct to the source instead of taking a ride on a merry-go-round. Right to Know Week is easier to talk about than to do something about.