#LiquorLeaks wonders: is B.C.'s open government a sham?

I have used this space before to comment on Premier Christy Clark's open government sham, er plan. Excuse me.

I didn't think the Distribution of Liquor Project could get more suspicious, but the BC Liberals must not have been paying attention to public and media discourse. I made a very simple Freedom of Information request to find out exactly when the six bidders on the long list submitted their bids.

It's not the first I've made. Here is a previous post about how I found out LDB and the government are hiding cost/benefit analyses and business case reports regarding privatization. I have since appealed to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

On this latest request, the government initially told me I'd get a response by Aug. 15. Now it has notified me that it is delaying disclosure until as late as Sept. 27 because it feels like consulting with another public body. It has the power to invoke further delays. Sometimes the information is so sensitive, that the government can make a valid case to delay disclosure. Most of the time the government is motivated to withhold records, either temporarily or permanently, for fear of embarrassment.

Minister Margaret MacDiarmid -- whose portfolio includes Open Government -- told me on July 9 that it was her ministry that was managing the privatization bidding process. Citizens' Services is in charge of government buying and contracting and Citizens' Services was in charge of receiving the formal bids by the 4 p.m., June 29 deadline.

MacDiarmid's staff now tell me they want to consult with the Liquor Distribution Branch and Energy and Mines. LDB answers directly to Energy and Mines and its minister, Rich Coleman. See the letter below.

The shortlist, which could be as little as one bidder or as many as three, is supposed to be announced July 20. (We know a lot about Exel, but how much do you know about ContainerWorld, the only B.C. bidder which has an interesting relationship with an Exel sister company? And what about Schenker and Kuehne + Nagel and their previous relationship with Exel in the European Union?)

Why does the government want to hide the time(s) and date(s) that the bidders submitted their documents?

If all six bidders did respond on-time, as per the rules, shouldn't the proof be made public now?

Laughable Delay & Bother

Open letter to Premier Christy Clark

Dear Ms. Clark,

Do you remember saying these things during your short tenure as Premier of British Columbia?

"Open government is about sharing information and giving British Columbians more opportunities to participate in decisions that make a difference in their lives.”

“Open Government is about giving people a sense of confidence that government is working for them, not trying to do something to them.”

And, finally, in July 2011, you announced an open data and information initiative, in which you stated at the 2:49 mark of this video the following:

"After all, it's taxpayers' money and it's taxpayers' information."

On Feb. 10, 2012, you met in Olympia, Wash. with Gov. Christine Gregoire and missed a golden opportunity. You could have asked Ms. Gregoire about her state's Freedom of Information Act. It is a model that should be adopted here. I'm a British Columbian and I can get information faster from Washington's government than I can from the one in my home province.

I don't believe you really are devoted to openness and transparency. Your words are those of a charlatan. You like government to be open only on your terms, not the terms of the people. Look at the response I received below when I asked a simple question to the Jobs, Tourism and Innovation ministry about the budget and plan for your B.C. Jobs Plan and Canada Starts Here advertising campaign. I got a denial letter, claiming all the information is secret. Hidden in cabinet. I thought it's taxpayers' money and taxpayers' information. Or were those only the words that the spin doctor prescribed?

So I'm challenging you to prove me wrong. Make the following four changes to show that you really do believe in openness and transparency:

1) Issue a directive to all ministries and agencies, ordering them to favour openness and disclose records requested within a maximum 30 calendar days (not business days).

2) Follow the State of Washington example and appoint an Open Government Ombudsman. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner is burdened by a lack of resources, a caseload backlog and it only accepts complaints by mail or fax. (Isn't this the 21st century?)

3) Order all Crown corporations to publish agendas no later than 72 hours before and minutes no later than 72 hours after every board meeting and hold an open, public board meeting at least once each fiscal year.

4) Adapt the following State of Washington openness principles for use in British Columbia, as both the bedrock of FOI and the preamble of the Act.

The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them.
The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know.
The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created.

I know you're no fan of Gordon Campbell. Here's the opportunity to show you are better than the man you replaced.

Sincerely,


Bob Mackin

P.S.: If you swiftly make the B.C. government genuinely open, I won't remind you so much about the need for a B.C. Rail inquiry.

Christy Clark: Secrecy Starts Here

When open doesn't necessarily mean open

If you read this blog after July 25, you'd know that A) the British Columbia government is heralding a new "open government" policy and B) it's just a superficial, smoke and mirrors public relations campaign. Premier Christy Clark's staff manipulated the release of records (and the records themselves) about the Harmonized Sales Tax referendum. See for yourself.

Clark is banging the open government drum because she wants you to vote for her B.C. Liberal Party in the next election. If Clark was serious about increasing transparency, her government would change the laws to put the power (and information) in the hands of the citizens. For inspiration, she need look no further than the State of Washington.

So here is the latest absurdity. The government is delaying disclosure of documents about the July 19 open government announcement. It invoked its power to delay disclosure from Aug. 31 to Oct. 14.

Is this another sign pointing to a late September or early October provincial election?

Open Government? Hahaha!