Editor: On April 7 the Outlook published a letter titled Response To NIMBY And FOIPP.
This letter was written by a Canmore resident. A portion of his letter chronicled his frustrations with FOIPP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act). I suspect most citizens who are forced to jump through the hoops and hurdles required by the FOIPP process become extremely frustrated, even angry, at the obstacles created by this so-called freedom of information (George Orwell-like doublespeak) process.
FOIPP seems to be designed to prevent citizens from obtaining what is usually taxpayer-funded information. As a result of his experiences the writer stated that “… the PP in FOIPP stands for Protection of Politicians.” It seems also to be designed to protect Town of Banff and Parks Canada officials from inquisitive taxpayers.
Since March 16 I have been playing email tennis with both Town of Banff staff and Parks Canada Banff Field Unit staff in what has become a frustrating attempt to obtain a copy of a report referred to as the Cushman/Wakefield Report (CW). This report is described by the Town staffer – “The Cushman/Wakefield report the Town of Banff commissioned was confidential information pertaining to the calculation of release fees by Parks Canada for the Deer Street and Cave Avenue parcels of land.”
Calculation of release fees – doesn’t that sound like information that Banff taxpayers should have access to? I am curious as to what other information they might be hiding – oops, I meant FOIPPing.
I have no intention of jumping through the FOIPP hoops and hurdles in order to obtain information that, for the most part, should be made available to taxpayers. After all, the Town staffer has already informed me she will forward a copy of the C/W report after I have completed the required paperwork and waited approximately 30 days.
Why force a taxpayer to waste time and energy in order to provide information that she has stated she will, eventually, provide to me? I appreciate that some of the information might be confidential until contracts have been signed for the construction of the below-market housing projects but that should be only a small portion of the requested report.
Readers – please help me, and yourself, by encouraging Town of Banff to send me, and the local newspapers, a copy of the Cushman/Wakefield report.
This is supposed to be a democracy. I do not think that this sort of taxpayer-funded information should be withheld from the public.
Jon Whelan,
Banff
