BC, Ontario ranked lowest for freedom of information

The 5th annual Freedom of Information Audit from the Canadian Newspaper Association cites poor performance by the federal government.

Ontario and BC were ranked lowest in terms of access to information.

The audit team sent a total of 315 freedom of information requests to 11 federal departments and crown corporations, 39 municipalities, departments and ministries of 10 provinces and the Yukon and 10 universities.

A Vancouver Sun article by
Robert Cribb reports:

“Nearly half of the 315 formal requests to municipal, provincial and federal governments seeking records such as pandemic flu plans, trip expenses for senior officials and public land transactions were met with denials, fees and time delays reaching as long as half a year.”

“The B.C. Ministry of Transportation would like $98,603 to provide you with the number of cellphones used by its civil servants and how much they cost.

“Getting a list of publicly funded contracts from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will cost you $20,825.

“And if you want the details of secret deals universities have struck with their food and beverage suppliers, you’re largely out of luck.”