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The Canadian Press last week reported that a senior aide to then-Public Works minister Christian Paradis killed the release of a report last July requested by CP under the Access to Information Act. Now the Prime Minister's Office is involved. The news agency had been trying to get a copy of a 137-page sensitive annual report on Public Works' real estate portfolio. It includes information on high vacancy rates and weak returns on investment, according to CP reporter Dan Beeby who broke the story. The report had never been publicly released. The Public Works Department's real estate branch had consented to its release and the Access to Information Office at Public Works had decided after what CP describes as "extensive consultation," that there was no legal reason to withhold any of the report. The filed was deemed "sensitive," sent to Mr. Paradis' office for review, initially given the green light, but the office put a stop to it as it was being sent out. The staffer said only one small section of the report should be released. The department's director general, Sylvia Seguin-Brant, had argued that the entire report should be released after consulting with Justice Department lawyers. The department released a heavily censored report. But CP filed an access request on how the report was handled.
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More transparency needed on Access to Information Act
The Canadian Press last week reported that a senior aide to then-Public Works minister Christian Paradis killed the release of a report last July requested by CP under the Access to Information Act. Now the Prime Minister's Office is involved. The news agency had been trying to get a copy of a 137-page sensitive annual report on Public Works' real estate portfolio. It includes information on high vacancy rates and weak returns on investment, according to CP reporter Dan Beeby who broke the story. The report had never been publicly released. The Public Works Department's real estate branch had consented to its release and the Access to Information Office at Public Works had decided after what CP describes as "extensive consultation," that there was no legal reason to withhold any of the report. The filed was deemed "sensitive," sent to Mr. Paradis' office for review, initially given the green light, but the office put a stop to it as it was being sent out. The staffer said only one small section of the report should be released. The department's director general, Sylvia Seguin-Brant, had argued that the entire report should be released after consulting with Justice Department lawyers. The department released a heavily censored report. But CP filed an access request on how the report was handled.
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