EDMONTON — Alberta’s Information and Privacy commissioner publicly castigated the government of Premier Ed Stelmach Thursday for failing to keep an election promise to foster accountable and transparent government.
Frank Work issued the rebuke in the opening message to his most recent annual report, which was distributed to MLAs on Thursday afternoon.
“People who want our votes . . . espouse accountability and transparency. The first of Premier Stelmach’s five priorities when he ran for election in 2006 was to govern with integrity and transparency,” Mr. Work said in the two-page message.
“I cannot let this occasion pass without commenting on what I see as a lack of leadership at the provincial level with respect to access to information,” he said. “ . . . What I do not see, for the most part, is leadership at the political level in terms of getting information out, being proactive and fostering a culture of openness.”
Mr. Work suggested government employees responsible for releasing information are routinely grilled by deputy ministers who take a long time to sign off on access requests.
In particular, he said, the government delays releasing information requested by journalists.
“If [civil servants] perceive that access to information is frowned upon or that the unwritten rule is to be extra cautious, we will act accordingly,” he said. “It is a matter of leadership. It is a matter of those who promise transparency delivering on the promise and it is as simple as sending the instruction down the ranks. It is the difference between a culture of secrecy and a culture of openness. If you are going to promise transparency then embrace it.”
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/Stelmach+rebuked+over+Alberta+government+secrecy/4105392/story.html#ixzz1Az1so2IE