Last year, the number of access to information requests journalists made to government dropped 23 per cent. Maybe it has something to do with the sad fact that Canada ranks last in FOI effectiveness. At the federal level, blocking requests has become a matter of course. In 2008, Canadian Press reported the trend had reached “crisis proportions.” Who knew it could get even worse? One thing is certain: acquiescence won’t help. In our Ask a Mentor section, J-Source asks a veteran investigative journalist, “How can I access government information?” Not getting answers is no reason to stop digging.