CBRM: Freedom of Information is so Expensive Here

That Will Be 43,000 Dollars­­­­­­­­­

Here is an  imagined conversation, based on facts, between a CBRM employee and a citizen who asked, in essence, if they could have some detailed information about how money, if any, flows between the CBRM and  Business Cape Breton, the Habour Port Development Partners, and th­­e Port of Sydney Development Corporation:

CBRM Staff Member: “That will be 43,000 dollars.”

Curious Citizen: “But I make $26,661 a year, the median income in CBRM according to the 2015 census. I would have to work more than a year and a half to come up with that much money. And I couldn’t eat or pay rent.”

CBRM Staff Member: “Well, we would have to photocopy 16,000 pages.”

Curious Citizen: “Well, Staples could do that for about 640 dollars at .04 cents a page. That could help reduce your costs.”

CBRM Staff Member: “It would also take 1360 hours of work.”

Curious Citizen: “Yikes. So, it would take someone who works fulltime at 37.5 hours a week about 36 weeks to get me this information?”

CBRM Staff Member: “Yes.”

Curious Citizen: “Hang on. That is about 9 months. Of constant work.”

Curious Citizen: “You realize that this information is supposed to be saved and accessible to the public if it is requested?”

CBRM Staff Member: “I do.”

 

It is no surprise that Nova Scotia’s information and privacy commissioner, when asked, said, in effect, “Yeah, that, is way, way, way too high. It is probably the highest estimate attached to releasing information via the Freedom of Information Act ever made in our province.”

After some whittling on both sides, a new estimate was arrived at - 3,900 dollars. But the privacy commissioner said that this fee was still too high and the CBRM had not “met its legal duty to assist the applicant in getting access to public information and should waive the fee entirely.” (CBC)

But our CBRM Clerk has stated publicly that they do not agree with Nova Scotia’s information and privacy commissioner and will charge the fee.

Huh. That is a lot of power for an unelected official to have. The next step would be the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

CBRM Council is soon to take up the issue of the Freedom of Information and how CBRM will adhere to it but we know that CBRM is refusing to release this information, which seems unfair.  Can nothing be done? 

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