Re: editorial, “Delete, delete scandal is shocking”
All I can say is that this is only half of the scam. Many years ago I followed the introduction of the act, by way of Hansard. Reading Hansard, one could not help but be impressed by what the politicians were promising once the act became law (i.e. openness and transparency was true nature of the bill).
I purchased a copy of the Freedom of Information act after it became law. Lo and behold, I found the following line hidden away in the Privacy section of the act: “The head of a public body must not release information that would subject the government of British Columbia to public scrutiny.”
That is correct folks, the FOI act was a joke from onset. It was the NDP that introduced the act, the very party that is now whining about the government secrecy relating to the deleting.
I sent a copy of the section to all the major newspapers in B.C., and not one of them saw fit to expose the scam. The only thing that happened was years later the act was rewritten. Whether this section is still hidden away in the act is anyone’s guess.
Needless to say, I don’t trust politicians and I trust the major newspapers even less.
John Walker
Cobble Hill