Don't hide information, governments advised
Canada's governments, in the interest of gaining public trust and building a "robust democracy," should open their files and provide much more information to Canadians.
This is the message that emerged Wednesday in a joint resolution released by information and privacy commissioners representing the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
That would represent a complete reversal in policy for our current federal government just as it would have for previous Liberal governments. The trend in Canada for years has been towards greater government secrecy and the politicization of the Access to Information system. I guess it can't hurt to keep encouraging governments to do better and I applaud these folks for trying. But there's a part of this issue they overlook.
In particular, the commissioners are calling on politicians and bureaucrats to embrace the principle of "open government" -- a shift they say is occurring in other nations such as the United States, where President Barack Obama has made it easier for Americans to get access to information, usually online. Meanwhile, government leaders in Britain and Australia have also recently endorsed the idea.
In some respects, it's true that Obama has improved access to information. He has also done far more than his predecessor ever did to cast a chill on whistleblowers by attempting to prosecute those — including journalists — who have tried to shine some light on government abuses. If this discussion is about being able to hold governments accountable then protection for whistleblowers has to be a part of it. If the U.S., Britain and Australia are so good at it, why is WikiLeaks striking up relationships with Iceland and Sweden?
This is a conversation we should be having. But there are so many of those these days.
The U.S. Senate is currently processing a bill that presumes to define who is a legitimate journalist and thus deserving of protection under the First Amendment and who is not. In itself, that is a violation of the First Amendment, whose authors would have revolted at the idea that politicians should make such judgements. Worse, they've crafted an amendment that specifically excludes WikiLeaks from protection -- if that outrage isn't overturned by the courts, it will be because U.S. courts have become exceptionally shaky in their faith in their own heritage.
Memo to Canadian civil servants and journalists: WikiLeaks.org, nice people, will never even know who you are. Do it today.