One of the roles of the Official Opposition in our system of democracy is to review the expenditures of government and those organizations that are in some way directly tied to government. This can only be done however if there is a way for the opposition to actually receive information about how taxdollars are being spent.
This is, of course, an important function. Without the ability to have opposition, media and public oversight of government expenditures there is little ability to ensure that taxpayers are getting value for the money government and government related organizations are spending.
One tool that has been created to ensure this important function can be carried out is Freedom of Information rules and laws. Freedom of Information legislation allows anyone from the public to request information on how government is spending money on specific items and, unless the information must remain private for some legitimate reason, it needs to be released.
Unfortunately, while the ability for members of the opposition and the public to get information about government expenditures is important, it does not always happen easily.
Unfortunately, the NDP government is quick to put up walls anytime it feels it can prevent potentially embarrassing information from being released.
As an example, recently, through a Freedom of Information request, members of the Progressive Conservative Caucus asked the NDP government to provide details on the $1.5 million of taxpayers’ money the University College of the North (UCN) spent on travel and food in 2009.
The NDP government responded back that they would provide the list of restaurant expenditures and travel expenditures that resulted in the $1.5 million cost only if they were paid $12,175. They said this would be the cost to compile and photocopy documents. That of course is an outrageous response. By demanding thousands of dollars for information that should be entered electronically and be fairly accessible, the NDP is simply putting up a wall to prevent the information from being seen.
It’s not the first time that the NDP has demanded thousands of dollars to access fairly routine but perhaps politically embarrassing information from government. By saying the information is available but then attaching an astronomical cost to obtaining it, the NDP government destroys the whole intention of Freedom of Information legislation and makes a mockery of the notion of government accountability.
The role of opposition is not one that is always respected by government. But the NDP government`s strategy of hiding public information behind of wall of secrecy shows more disrespect to taxpayers than it does to anyone else.
