Canada's Access to Information Act

Let's get some information out concerning the access to information process currently available in Canada.

For those looking for intimate legal details here is the Access to Information Act itself. The forms to fill out are available online from the Treasury Board of Canada's web site:

Access to Information Request
Determine which federal government institution is most likely to have the information you are seeking.

To apply for information under the Access to Information Act, complete the Access to Information Request Form. Describe the information being sought and provide any relevant details necessary to help the institution find it. If you require assistance, refer to Sources of Federal Government and Employee Information for a description of program records held by the institution or contact its Access to Information Coordinator.

There are some fees involved depending on the type of information requested and the source departments involved. You'll need to send your request to the appropriate Access to Information and Privacy Coordinators for the departments involved. It may be worth an email or a call to the appropriate party to make sure the details are up to date.

There are some tangled links between government sites but the confusion seems to lead eventually to the web site of the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada. Importantly, their page entitled Making an ATIA Request to the OIC contains the following snippet:

Also, a list of all requests made ... to the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada under the Access to Information Act can be found here for quick reference.

The page referred to is the Completed ATIA Requests page. Note that you can request a copy of these previously completed requests.

However, as noted by the CBC, there are some remaining issues with respect to how this policy has been implemented by the government.

After all this I have one remaining question. If I find dirt on the government through an ATIA request will anyone know that I made the request? Given the behavior of the Harper government I'd rather not make myself visible to them. Strange that a citizen would feel that way isn't it?

Addendum

Here is an interesting article on The Star explaining why Canada's freedom of information system is in a shambles...

Review: Death of the Liberal Class

This book, authored by Chris Hedges, starts off with a rousing and damning indictment of liberalism in society.  Apparently there was a role for liberalism to play and it has been left undone.

We are told of the policies and practices that eradicated leftist views and the effects of those activities. An environment of perpetual war combined with a corporate assault on government and educational institutions has gutted our collective voice. The discussion of historic tactics employed and how the liberal class rolled over is fascinating and shines a light on the state of affairs today. In particular, the state of journalism and its manipulation are sore points.

It's refreshing to hear such a different point of view and a condemnation of so many sacrosanct parties.

Other parts of the book attempt to discuss what was lost or what types of things are missing from society. In once sense it is the authors handbook for those wishing to find ways to inject views outside of the mainstream back into society.

Frankly, the discussion of far left influences, such as communism, are likely to turn off many readers. The appetite to hear that ideas can come from somewhere so far to the left and still be valuable (even while not promoting communism itself) has all but been expunged today.

Additionally, the lamentation of the state of religion is going to frustrate some. Obviously the author feels that religion was a large part of liberalism throughout the course of history. However, those who are not deeply religious may find this discussion drives them away. It is perfectly possible to be left, or right, without requiring motivations centered around religion. Those who are deeply religious are likely to have their own interpretations  and disagree with the author.

My recommendation, buy the book for the discussion of tactics and real world examples. The playbook of authority, the revelation of how dissent has systematically been driven out, these things are worth the price of admission. Liberals looking for ways to regenerate liberalism in some way may find value in later parts of the book also -- though I suspect most would need to modernize these ideas as there is a lot of historic review that will predate many readers.

Readers on the right might find that authority and abuse of power have in fact gone too far. They may also find that the author does not differentiate very much between democrat and conservative -- instead noting that government and authority of either stripe are basically suffering the same corruption.  If the left and the right would call for the same removal of corruption and influence, the same limitation of the actions of power, things would be much improved though they would continue to disagree about everything else.

In summary, perhaps the value of this book can be expressed in terms of the readers ability to perceive the tactics used to squelch dissent. Whatever your political persuasion it is your duty to understand how power is being abused and to resist it even if it is being abused in your favor, for now. Democracy and freedom of speech suggest that varied viewpoints are valuable but authority routinely works against these ideals.

Buy it. Some parts are a hard slog of a read and some parts will offend the sensibilities of many readers depending on their own sacred cows. However, there is much meat available for thought whether or not you agree with the authors views.

Ouch, That Hurts

I'm mincing my way into the opening chapters of Death of the Liberal Class.

Wow.  If you call yourself a liberal you have to pick up this book at the store and read the first chapter. Everything you stand for has systematically been dismantled and corrupted by corporatism.

Sorry.

Seriously though, pick up the book, it's a sobering wake up call.

I suppose, if you aren't a liberal, you can pick up the book and recognize the tactics that have lead to recent successes.

Fearful Symmetry: One Sided?

I'm digging into Brian Crowley's book Fearful Symmetry.

I can't help but notice the lack of space used to discuss potential alternatives to the conclusions being made in the opening chapter.

Did anybody else notice that other governments around the world were racking up massive debts too?

Does anybody really believe that government policy caused lowered birth rates and decline of marriage?

Has it occurred to anyone that many companies in Canada are managed by Canadians but not owned by Canadians. Perhaps this one reason why our competitiveness has declined?

Will the author give any weight to the fact that Canada faced historic issues that caused it to take measures to solidify it's stability as a single country?

Obviously, I will continue to read further. Perhaps these issues get consideration later in the book. I do know that finding correlations and treating them as causative issues is a massive error in thinking. I hope the later parts of the book improve in this regard.

I will also note, again, that this book seems to be promoting the values of the Bush government and current right-wing US political viewpoints in a manner directed at bringing Canada into line. I don't have any proof but I seem to be in good company when it comes to reckless conclusions and specious logic.

For example, on page 40 we hear about a professor proclaiming that the government was at fault for much of the financial crisis -- as if the free market would have avoided it if the government hadn't been involved.  Never mind that economists in the US, particularly those in prominent educational roles, are often paid to generate articles by the financial industry as another arm of lobbying effort to mitigate potential government actions that might have an impact on their profits.

And, no, profits are not bad and neither are market forces. However, when power can corrupt government oversight and interfere with appropriate public policy with respect to those market forces then there is a problem that should be addressed.

Crowley is way too far into the profit makes right camp.

However, I won't argue against his basic premise so far that we are going to face shortages of workers in the sense that many people are going to be leaving the workforce due to age and retirement effects.  Let's see where he goes with that vein of ideas once we get past the money knows best rhetoric.

In short, it's a mistake to think that liberal ideas are against capitalism or that any mainstream liberal thinkers believe they have an alternative to the basic ideals of capitalism.  Use of such a straw man argument does not bode well for the quality of this book.