In government, when in doubt, delay. When you want to delay, study. When you study, admit you might be dooming the idea.
We at Business in Vancouver, among our colleagues in journalism, were highly supportive when the BC NDP opposition repeatedly called for the BC Liberal government to reform the province’s antiquated freedom of information law – and identified how to do it.
The public, including many businesses, uses the law to gain access to government records (usually against the government’s will) to better understand policies and practices.
We hoped that when it assumed power, an NDP government would make good on its commitment to move swiftly to make the law more effective.
It did, after all, excoriate the Liberal government when it denied the public’s right to know. This is, after all, a law that belongs to the people, and this is a government that claims to put people first.
But last week the government decided that it needs to study the matter and talk to stakeholders once again, in order to determine if and when and how it might proceed.
We have seen this movie before.
In deciding it is time to revert to process and to commission another study, the government practically ensures legislation arising from this redundant review surfaces close enough to an election so as to be overridden by other priorities.
There is no practical reason to rag the puck. The NDP knows the law inside out from trying to make it work as an opposition for 16 years.
It ought to take it 16 hours to form the basis of legislation that would reflect its values – as it has done on other files.
By reverting to the defensive form that corrodes the integrity of most governments, the NDP suggests its values are no different than its predecessors in treating the public’s right to know as a nuisance around which to be navigated.
