Alberta’s FOIP Amendments

Coverage of this issue has not gone very national from what I can see, but here are a couple of links to Alberta papers

Calgary Sun
Edmonton Journal (requires subscription)

The bill passed yesterday after debate was limited by the Klein government (following 6 hours of debate).

The most outlandish sections of the bill are as follows (ss. 4-6 are about briefing notes to Ministers (restricted for 5 years), s.7 restricts access to all documents supporting the auditor’s reports (15 years):

4 Section 6 is amended by adding the following after subsection (3):

(4) The right of access does not extend

(a) to a record created solely for the purpose of briefing a member of the Executive Council in respect of assuming responsibility for a ministry, or

(b) to a record created solely for the purpose of briefing a member of the Executive Council in preparation for a sitting of the Legislative Assembly.

(5) Subsection (4)(a) does not apply to a record described in that clause if 5 years or more has elapsed since the member of the Executive Council was appointed as the member responsible for the ministry.

(6) Subsection (4)(b) does not apply to a record described in that clause if 5 years or more has elapsed since the beginning of the sitting in respect of which the record was created.

(7) The right of access to a record does not extend to a record relating to an audit by the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta that is in the custody of the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta or any person under the administration of the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta, irrespective of whether the record was created by or for or supplied to the Chief Internal Auditor of Alberta.

(8) Subsection (7) does not apply to a record described in that subsection

(a) if 15 years or more has elapsed since the audit to which the record relates was completed, or

(b) if the audit to which the record relates was discontinued or if no progress has been made on the audit for 15 years or more.

Here is the Hansard report of the last words said on Bill 20 in the Legislature:

Dr. Swann …I know all Albertans are going to be dismayed as they learn more and more about how this government is trying to restrict opportunities and access to information and decision-making, subverting the democratic process.
4: 30
The Acting Speaker: I hesitate to interrupt the hon. Member for Calgary-Mountain View, but pursuant to Government Motion 20, agreed to on May 17, 2006, I must now put the question.

[ The voice vote indicated that Bill 20 carried]