Alberta again refuses to release results of its public pension plan consultations

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For a second time in as many months, Alberta’s finance ministry has refused to launch what the general public has instructed it relating to a possible Alberta pension plan by means of responses to authorities surveys.

Final month, Postmedia filed a request underneath the Freedom of Data and Safety of Privateness Act (FOIP) looking for full copies of the pension workbooks launched by the federal government close to the top of final yr.

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Final week, dozens of pages of pages of data had been returned however with all solutions redacted.

In withholding the knowledge, FOIP officers cited part 24(1) of the of the FOIP Act that enables for exemptions or exclusions primarily based on recommendation, proposals, suggestions, analyses or coverage choices.

It’s the identical part of the act cited final month when Postmedia was denied entry to the outcomes of the federal government’s on-line survey relating to a potential Alberta pension plan.

Part 24(2) of the act states the exemption in part 24(1) doesn’t apply to statistical survey knowledge.

Postmedia has filed a request for evaluate with the workplace of the knowledge and privateness commissioner (OIPC) relating to each requests.

‘No discretion to withhold’

There’s additionally precedent to assist the discharge of the knowledge.

In 2008, an applicant efficiently appealed to the knowledge and privateness commissioner after being denied a request looking for the outcomes of a public opinion survey on employment requirements by Alberta Employment and Immigration which additionally cited part 24(1).

OIPC adjudicator Wade Riordan Raaflaub dominated in favour of the applicant, and particularly cited the coverage recommendation clause in rejecting the division’s arguments that it might retain the data.

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“No matter whether or not a statistical survey reveals recommendation or another sort of data enumerated in part 24(1), a public physique has no discretion to withhold the knowledge in reliance on part 24(1),” the ruling states.

He dominated the division had no discretion to withhold the knowledge and ordered it to launch the information to the applicant.

Extra lately, different authorities departments haven’t had problem offering responses to comparable FOIP requests from Postmedia.

In January, the ministry of municipal affairs supplied each abstract knowledge of a number of alternative responses in addition to a whole lot of particular person long-form solutions to its survey on including celebration affiliation to ballots in municipal elections.

Final April and once more in September, the Preston Manning-led Public Well being Emergencies Governance Overview Panel returned a number of hundred pages value of replies to its survey asking for suggestions on how the federal government ought to strategy future public well being emergencies.

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An unsigned e mail from communications workers said, “the panel might be utilizing the enter gathered from the phone city halls and the net survey and workbook to advise government council. As such, the responses from the engagement actions are thought of recommendation to the federal government and cupboard.”

It said 676 workbooks have been acquired thus far and didn’t tackle questions on part 24(2) or previous survey outcomes which were returned.

Final August, privateness commissioner Diane McLeod launched what might be a year-long, government-wide investigation into the dealing with of FOIP requests.

‘Not stunned’

Opposition finance critic Shannon Phillips mentioned the federal government has proven a sample of ignoring the outcomes of consultations it doesn’t like.

“The federal government will go to any lengths to cowl up what they’ve heard from Albertans. And, I’m not stunned that they’ve denied this freedom of data request as they denied the earlier one.”

There’s been little proof thus far indicating the idea of a provincial pension plan is gaining traction with the general public as seen in responses in phone city halls in addition to opinion polling, the Opposition NDP’s city halls, emails to the premier’s workplace, and inside authorities reviews indicating authorities flyers had been being mailed again to the premier’s workplace.

Alberta has paused its dwell pension plan engagement classes till the workplace of the chief actuary of Canada supplies its estimate of Alberta’s potential asset withdrawal from the CPP, one thing Premier Danielle Smith has mentioned she expects within the fall.

mblack@postmedia.com

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