When governments collect information on behalf of their citizens, that information should be available to the public without unreasonable delay or excessive costs.
Sadly, that is not always the case.
And when access is denied, it often flies under the public’s radar. Each time that happens, citizens lose some of their rights.
Recently, the CBC revealed that its Freedom of Information Act request for information regarding a controversial land deal in Regina would yield a bill of more than $180,000 from the Saskatchewan government. That high profile charge has shed light on the laws that govern the release of information that should rightfully be public.
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High costs are one roadblock. So are lengthy delays that can render the information moot once it’s received (such as a change of government).
Relentless rules that cover many exceptions are another.
The Western Producer ran into that recently when we went looking for information on the sale of controlling equity in the CWB to G3, which is controlled by Bunge Canada and a Saudi firm. The new entity will be able to purchase all remaining farmer equity in the CWB at market value in seven years.
Some of the CWB’s assets were acquired with revenue from farmers’ grain sales. So, what do farmers think? Did they get a fair deal when the CWB was turned over to G3 for a promised investment of $250 million?
Well, no one can offer an informed opinion because the CWB’s financial results have been kept private since 2012. And when The Western Producer attempted use the federal FOI process to acquire information on how the federal government evaluated the worth of the CWB, what came of it was a 208-page, heavily redacted document that shed no practical insight.
In 2014, a story in The Western Producer placed a potential value of the CWB at $100 to $150 million. Others have said it might be worth $300 million.
The CWB owned two new ships, 1,700 hopper cars and some real estate. Its client list was also a key asset.
Yet we have no idea whether farmers received their entitled value.
Our request faced two main roadblocks.
First, much of the work in evaluating the CWB was done by a third party: Ernst and Young. In such cases, the law gives third parties permission to block access to information that is deemed sensitive to their business.
Also cited in limiting our access was a rule that allows the head of any government institution to refuse disclosure of “an account of consultation or deliberations in which directors, officers or employees of a government institution, a minister of the crown or the staff of a minister participate.”
Freedom of information is, at times, a fight for information. Perhaps the Trudeau government will loosen up the FOI rules. The Harper government did not review those rules when it introduced its vaunted Accountability Act. In effect, there was more information, but it was difficult to get at.
Farmers deserve a chance to evaluate what was done with their almost century-long investment in the CWB. It would be a good assessment case for changing the rules.
