City hall in White Rock, B.C., has told reporters they can no longer talk to city councillors without going through the city’s public relations office.

“A press release from that city’s administration section appeared in
my inbox Wednesday morning informing me that I no longer have the
luxury of picking up the phone and calling city council members
directly to elicit information about the doings of that august body,” writes Ted Colley in a column in Surrey Now.

“White Rock city council has decided it no longer wishes to have unfiltered information released to the public.

“The
policy requires reporters to call the city’s PR person, or the city
manager, to request an interview with anyone on council or staff.”