Ontario Ministry of Environment wins
Inaugural Code of Silence Award

ST. JOHN'S, NF, May 26 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists has awarded the Ontario Ministry of the Environment its inaugural Code of Silence Award, recognizing the most secretive government department in Canada. "The deep commitment many civil servants have to keeping information locked away from the public -- the very people who own the information -- has gone unrecognized long enough," said Robert Cribb, CAJ president.

"This award honours the extraordinary effort made in government departments every day to maintain the shroud of secrecy around information about everything from public- health risks to how our tax dollars are spent. We salute those who keep their vow to the code of silence."

The award was announced Saturday as part of the CAJ's award ceremony held during the Association's national annual conference. The ministry was invited to receive the honour, but declined.

The Code of Silence award -- a plaque, featuring a padlock hanging from a chain -- was accepted on behalf of the ministry by the CAJ.

The Ontario Ministry of the Environment received the honour for withholding information about the Walkerton water tragedy that claimed six lives and sickened hundreds more following contamination of the town's water system. "The Walkerton disaster is among the most egregious examples of government secrecy having dreadful consequences," said Cribb. "People got sick. People died. And the public outrage has made the ministry the clear winner of this award."

Media reports following the disaster revealed the province had known for years that Ontario had serious water-safety problems. But the government failed to release reports and test results documenting the severity of the situation.

The Ontario ministry was chosen by journalists and members of the public over three other nominees:

(*) Health Canada: The federal department has earned a reputation among journalists for undermining the public's right to know. The federal access commissioner has logged more complaints against Health Canada than any other department over the past two years. And while commissioner John Reid has reported improvements at Health Canada in meeting deadlines, complaints from the public persist. The most common problems include long delays in responding to requests and outright denials for public information.

(*) Hydro-Quebec: Journalists and the public have either been denied or forced to fight lengthy battles for access to records related to the province's Great Whale hydro-electric project and serious problems related to the 1998 ice-storm disaster, one of Canada's worst natural catastrophes. Published reports revealed the utility refused to release and/or destroyed key documents that the provincial commission studying the disaster had requested.

(*)Nova Scotia Cabinet (executive council): Two failed attempts to sell the Sydney Steel Corp. were cloaked in secrecy by Nova Scotia's Conservative cabinet, media reports document. Ministers refused to discuss specifics of the sale and provincial cabinet refused calls to disclose a copy of the agreement. The province's FOI officer ordered documents to be released yet cabinet complied only after the privatization was approved in principle by the legislature. Despite re-writing its access-to- information law in 1999, the government still retains the power to ignore orders from its FOI review officer.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organization with 1,500 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary role is to provide political advocacy and quality professional development for its members.