Re: 鈥淩eform storm gathers steam,鈥� column, Feb. 6.
Les Leyne鈥檚 column on extending freedom of information to the legislature made me smile. Anyone who has ever taken out an FOI request for a government body to provide what should be publicly available information is advised not to hold their breath while it is being prepared. When it does finally arrive (after a very long wait) 99 per cent could be redacted.
In a case where citizens in our neighbourhood tried to get some straightforward information from sa国际传媒 Housing, there was one little gem that wasn鈥檛 redacted in the FOI results we received. It involved a consultant telling sa国际传媒 Housing how to circumvent the FOI rules.
Simple: The client should not address anything to sa国际传媒 Housing. Instead, address it to a third party and mark it 鈥渃onfidential 鈥� contains proprietary information,鈥� so it鈥檚 third-party confidential and thus secret.
Don鈥檛 think because you鈥檇 like to see what鈥檚 going on in our provincial government you can find out through FOI. You can鈥檛, and when your large package of almost blank pages arrive, you will feel as Speaker Darryl Plecas described: You鈥檒l want to vomit.
B.G. Judson
Oak Bay
