I like the BC Liberals, or at least I dislike them less than most other parties, but this is just kind of painful.
Andrew Macleod, via The Tyee:
On Jan. 26 The Tyee made a freedom of information request to the Housing and Social Development Ministry for the records, including the latest in a promised series of reports created using federal tax data.
“Please be advised that it is the ministry's intention to post these updates within the next 60 days,” said a Feb. 12 letter from Richard Maddia, the ministry's director of information and privacy. Under provincial law, that meant the ministry could refuse to disclose the records through the FOI process.
Counting “days” as business days, that put the deadline at April 22. The date passed without the records being released. The Tyee's request would be treated as a new request and the ministry would have 30 business days to respond.
As of Thursday the government was holding fast to its decision not to set a date for releasing the report. After the Tyee told a freedom of information officer it would go ahead with a story about the suppressed report, this morning that officer's superior, Maddia, informed the Tyee the government's position had changed and it will release the report shortly.
“Clearly it's sensitive to them during the election,” said David Eby, the executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, after being told of the government's refusal to release the records. “If it's got bad news, for example that everyone who got cut off welfare became homeless, that's not the kind of thing they want out there when they're campaigning.”
Many government agencies do what they can to suppress records the public has a right to see, he said. “This kind of gamesmanship around elections with information takes on a different character, which is the appearance of bad faith.”
The minister responsible, Rich Coleman, was not available by posting time.
“The government is adamantly opposed to releasing information when it's not in their interests,” said Darrell Evans, the executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. “They're tighter than a frog's asshole now on anything to do with freedom of information. You can quote me on that.”
Notable and quotable.
Now, the question occurs to me: is this shoddy welfare system a black mark for the Liberals? Or is it a black mark for welfare programs in general?
Back to Andrew:
The province has insisted that the rapidly declining welfare caseload has been the result of more people finding employment. Other research, including a landmark study by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives researchers, and past Tyee coverage, suggests tightening eligibility rules in 2002 played a large role in the decline.
Ok, so nobody actually knows. People who may tend to view welfare through a supportive lens may think this a black mark for the Liberals. Personally, I don't view welfare through a supportive lens, so I might point toward this as being a black mark for welfare programs in general.
Hmm...
