In his opening statement last week, Premier John Horgan pledged that his new government would be open with British Columbians.
This is a sterling opportunity to do business differently – and to help business differently – by disclosing information while preceding governments, Liberal and NDP, have found ways to repeatedly deny, thwart and suppress the vital records taxpayers finance but somehow cannot retrieve.
Our province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act would be better named the Fiefdom of Obstruction and Protection of Politicians Act.
During its three decades-plus of existence, few laws have matched its diminution or distortion. What began as an achievable ideal – disclosure of records to help the public understand how its government works – devolved into a cynical sport in which record-keeping and record-providing were worlds apart.
Apart from our self-interest as a news organization to use this law to more fully report on significant matters of policy and on the value proposition of governance, there is an importance for business in understanding the practices and details of such matters as contracts and provincial operations.
Repeatedly, candidates have promised what they have not delivered: an era of greater openness and a willingness to accept the occasional reputational setback in order to appear (gasp!) human.
A freedom of information law, in which we can request and receive the documentation of operations, does not so much reveal flaws as it confirms the challenges of decision-making and the necessary compromises they entail.
In theory, an informed public is a more engaged and understanding public, presuming one believes in the public. The strenuous effort to undermine information freedom – at a federal, provincial and municipal level – is evidence of a political class that disrespects those who confer its power.
Premier Horgan has a chance to fix this. It is not a partisan matter, but one of public interest, of historical value and of cultural significance. We can only hope.
