Alberta judge slams province on access: “This Court will not abet this conduct”

In a decision that criticized the government of Alberta’s attitude toward access to information laws, a court has rejected the province’s attempt to block the release of records to ranchers.

The Globe and Mail’s Emma Graney recently wrote about the case, which centres around a group of Alberta ranchers who filed a freedom of information request for records connected to the United Conservative government’s decision to rescind the province’s 1976 Coal Policy. After extensive delays, Alberta Energy released 30 records out of 6,539 that had been identified. The ranchers filed an appeal and won, but the government sought judicial review of that decision.

Earlier this month, nearly four years after the ranchers filed their request, Justice Kent Teskey denied the government’s attempts to keep the information secret. “Every Albertan is entitled to a broad right of access to the records of their government. This is an essential pillar of a functional democracy,” he wrote in his ruling. 

“FOIPP contemplates a regime that is prompt, accessible and fair. This regime, however, can only function where the public body adopts the attitude of access imposed on it by the Legislature. Little about this matter is consistent with these principles. … It is difficult not to look at the history of this matter and see the critical rights imbued by access to information as being largely illusory. Whether the conduct of the Public Body stems from a lack of resources or intentional conduct is largely irrelevant. The Requesting Parties have been practically denied access to the information they are entitled to at law, and this Court will not abet this conduct through the availability of judicial review. …”

“It has been famously said that ‘democracy dies in darkness.’ If public bodies are unwilling or unable to comply with their timely obligations under FOIPP, they should expect that Courts may apply a high level of scrutiny on the availability of judicial review in the future.”

The Alberta government has appealed the decision.

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