Foreign Affairs Gets An "F"

[struggle4progress]

Canadians hoping to obtain records tucked away in Foreign Affairs and International Trade are up against a "culture of secrecy" and a department that is processing public requests far too slowly, said Information Commissioner John Reid. "There's a built-in secrecy in the system that is very difficult to deal with," said Mr. Reid in an interview. "The idea of giving anything out is very difficult." <snip>

Almost 29 per cent of requests filed to the department between April 1 and Nov. 30, 2004, were not dealt with in a timely manner and therefore deemed "refusals." <snip>

Mr. Reid added that the ongoing case of Maher Arar, a Canadian deported to Syria where he was detained and allegedly tortured, is putting a "tremendous overload" on various agencies including Foreign Affairs.

Independent Ottawa researcher Ken Rubin, who has asked for consular files on behalf of Mr. Arar, has complained to Mr. Reid about the many blanked-out and missing pages his requests have produced, and the huge chunk of time it often takes to reveal them. The legal limit to process requests is 30 days (extensions can be claimed), but it can sometimes take several months. "They are one of the stand-outs," he said, comparing Foreign Affairs to other departments. <snip>

http://www.embassymag.ca/html/index.php?display=story&full_path=/2005/june/22/fa/