ROTHENBURGER – Why is City Hall keeping letter to Kahlon a big secret?

LIKE PRECIOUS PENNIES, City Hall carefully guards its information and shares it cautiously.

A week and a half ago, local media reported on discussions between Municipal Affairs Minister Ravi Kahlon and City council about the state of the Braun Report. That’s the one requested by council, commissioned by the Province and written by former Abbotsford mayor Henry Braun on dysfunction at City Hall.

It was a poorly written, counter-productive, one-sided report, but enabled councillors to lower the sanctions boom on Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson. Recently, Kahlon asked council for an update on what resulted; in due course, a letter was written on behalf of councillors and sent off to the minister.

To date, that letter is top secret. City Hall has, thus far, refused to release it. The recent meeting with Kahlon apparently yielded nothing substantive about what they’re saying to each other, at least not for public consumption. Council and Kahlon are going to continue talking about it, the minister said, adding it’s important for municipal councils to operate effectively.

News wise, a nothing burger. A strange sort of fog has settled on details of discussions between Kahlon and the councillors. His request for an update on Braun was dated last Dec. 24. The letter from the City, the Armchair Mayor learned a while back, was sent Feb. 13 and Kahlon acknowledged it on March 28.

So, on March 31, I asked corporate officer Maria Mazzotta for copies of both the City’s letter and Kahlon’s reply. Her answer was that “Council’s communications to the Ministry regarding governance are confidential.” She said she’d asked the ministry whether Kahlon’s communications to council can be shared publicly, and would advise when she heard back.

This is quite a strange thing, deeming these communications to be confidential, no matter what the content. There are certainly rules around what type of information can be revealed but this is the first time I’ve heard of such a blanket policy of secrecy.

Why are communications regarding governance a secret, regardless of content? I noted that Kahlon’s Dec. 24 letter had been placed on a public council agenda. “Is it practice that any time a letter from the minister is received, he is asked for permission before it is released?” I asked.

“It has been for recent communications from the Minister, including the one you reference below,” came the reply. “It’s my practice to confirm with any writer of correspondence to the City whether they’re comfortable with their communication being shared publicly, when we’re considering doing so, unless they’re responding to a notice that informs them that their communication will be made public.”

None of this, of course, explains why the City’s letter to Kahlon — as opposed to Kahlon’s acknowledgement — should be kept a deep secret. So I filed a Freedom of Information request for the letters. That was on April 1.

This past Friday, the City replied: it will not be releasing either of the two letters to me. The reason is rather fascinating: “The records associated with your request will be available via the City of Kamloops website within the next 60 days, in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the “Act”). As such, we will not be providing records responsive to your request….”

Indeed, the City is entitled to do this under FOIPPA. The Province’s FOIPPA Policy and Procedures Manual explains that the 60-day rule “is intended to be used for information that has not yet been made public at the time of an access request.”

That last part is important. It means the letters must be made public within 60 days of my application, which was submitted April 1. One would almost think that Section 20(1)(b) (the part of the act permitting the 60-day delay) was implemented by the City in response to my application rather than public release having been planned all along.

So why not just release it in response to the application? The effect of the 60 days is simply to stall its release. The City’s letter is a response to a request from Kahlon for an update on council’s actions. Why should council’s actions in response to Braun be a secret, or so sensitive that it requires a delay in release?

It’s of particular interest in view of the Sarai tape that belatedly became public and which, obviously, would have been of significant interest to Braun’s deliberations had its existence been known at the time.

But here’s the really interesting part. On the one hand, according to the corporate officer, the City letter (and Kahlon’s acknowledgement) is confidential under City Hall policy. On the other hand, not so confidential, since it will be published for public viewing on the City’s website at a time of the City’s choosing.

By the way, the City’s reply to me, dated May 2, says the letters will be published on the City’s website “within the next 60 days.” The normal interpretation of the word “days” in FOIPPA rules is “business days.” Anyway, the Act, as opposed to the City’s response, starts the clock April 1, not May 2.

One more thing. Kahlon’s letter of March 28, to my knowledge, reveals nothing more than Kahlon’s comments did a few days ago. Just some thanks for council’s work on the matter and an offer to meet personally, said meeting which took place week before last. So anything of a sensitive nature must be contained in the City’s letter, not Kahlon’s acknowledgement.

Maybe City Hall’s reluctance to release either letter in a timely fashion will be explained within the letters themselves when they eventually see the light of day. Or maybe the City is just fussing over its information pennies.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.