Rachel Notley’s NDP is taking a lot of heat for their handling, or rather, mishandling of Freedom of Information requests.
Mainstream media organizations are starting to complain about unresponsive Freedom of Information requests, long delays and blacked out documents when they file requests with the Notley crew.
But this is nothing new to us at The Rebel. This is just another day at the office.
We routinely get denied access to information we are legally entitled to. We get government pamphlets instead of the documents and emails we know exist. We spend man-hours and resources trying to appeal the information roadblocks thrown up by this new “open and accountable” government.
And more recently, we’ve been getting bills, and not reasonable amounts for photocopying and toner ink either. When we FOI’d the Fort Mac water bomber contracts, we were handed a nearly $4,000 bill for our troubles.
But since we were undeterred by that obvious attempt to keep us from snooping where they think we shouldn't, the NDP raised the price on our journalistic curiosity.
The Rebel just received a FOI bill for $6,100.
We wanted records related to the power purchase agreements and termination by buyers of electricity including documents, emails, instant or text messages and correspondence. We also wanted any documents where the NDP was seeking legal advice about the power purchase agreements with Alberta energy retailers; all things we should have legal access to.
Whatever is in those documents, Rachel Notley doesn't want us to see it. It’s so precious and important to keep out of the prying eyes of the public that she’s trying to hide it behind a $6,121 paywall.
It’s outrageous and more of Notley’s broken promises.
Notley campaigned on accountability even pledging a review and changes to how documents are recorded and accessed by the public. Just don’t try to find out about what the review looks like. You’ll never be able to afford it.
Watermarked AB Justice FOI Fee Letter PPAs by The Rebel on Scribd
I hope you are seriously considering your legal options. If need be, seek to recover the costs of taking Notely to court and donate the rest to the Red Cross for Fort Mac or Alberta food banks. If they are breaking the law, hold them responsible. These lefty union ladies will lie and stiff you as long as they think they can get away with it.
What a scam.
Are we to believe they’ll only get a partial paycheque this week if they don’t ding Rebel for money?
Unaccountable politicians are thieves and they know they are and they will go to any links to protect themselves.
All of our provincial governing bodies have had many chances to to provide Albertans with a future and opportunities into that future.
They refuse to be held accountable even buy their own words as “freedom of information act”.
Separation separation separation.
Whatever you get back for your money will be so horribly redacted that it will be incongruent and useless as a smoking gun. I’ve always said that the FOI act was not designed to make government transparent, it was designed as an early warning to bureaucrats that someone is snooping and will find them out
- it provides time to hide the bodies, shredd the really damning evidence and send out redacted periphery docs. Essentially jerk you off while burying the evidence and concocting plausible deniability.
There is likely some golden nuggets found in emails between this government and the media.
Keith R., you are absolutely correct! It is time for a armed revolution! Everyone – stop sending your tax $$ in – it won’t take long and the coffers will dry up & the true evilness of these tyrants will be manifest. The tyranny in our country is becoming worse than that in Venezuela, Russia or China. It is only those on “will-ful” welfare & those at the trough (includes many RCMP) that are keeping these treasonous bastards in power. We have too many (but not the majority – like they think) people like Sean Penson, Jay Kelly, Jimmy Reece and all of their aliases who are fortifying the will of the tyrants.
Time for a good house cleaning.
Why? Simple reason is that we are a parliamentary democracy with a representative in the legislature. We should be able to ask our questions of our representative, regardless of party, who should then have the information made available to her/him by the government, without road blocks from the bureaucrats who are ordered by the government.
First, you have to have MLA’s that desire to do their job and not be invisible.
That we do not have access to information through our representative proves we have reached that point of Graham Greene, ’We are all taxed and none of us has representation.
The Rebel should take her to Court, all the Judges are Liberals, they will no mind hitting on a Socialist.
Alternatively, use a Phosphorous Grenade, inserted between her big toes.
The NDP are liars, loons and thieves . . .