Tory MP Rathgeber tables CBC transparency bill

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber tabled a private member’s bill in Parliament that would prevent CBC/Radio-Canada from denying access to information requests based on an exception for records related to its “journalistic, creative or programming activities,” the MP said. Rathgeber said in a release Monday that the private members' bill, C-461, called the CBC and Public Service Disclosure and Transparency Act, would “remove a deficiency” under the Access to Information Act related to CBC's journalistic or programming information. “It would remove this blanket exception by placing the onus on the corporation to satisfy the Information Commissioner that the disclosure would result in injury to the CBC,” the release said. The bill also amends the Privacy Act to allow for the disclosure of salaries at the highest levels of management in the public sector, the release said. Public sector expenses “will also specifically be subject to access requests,” it said. “This legislation, although clearly remedying a defect in the ATIA, also expands transparency government wide to include access requests for salaries and expenses of senior management within the federal public sector including Crown Corporations,” Rathgeber, the Conservative MP for Edmonton-St. Albert, Alta., said in a statement. “Taxpayers have been constantly telling me that they desire transparency so that they know how their tax dollars are being spent. I believe that this piece of legislation accomplishes these goals,” he said. Section 68.1 of the Access to Information Act says the law “does not apply to any information that is under the control of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that relates to its journalistic, creative or programming activities, other than information that relates to its general administration.” CBC argues that Section 68.1 permits it to exclude some records from release for competitive or commercial reasons. That has led critics to fault the public broadcaster for slow responses to requests and using the exception to bar the release of some records. The House of Commons ethics committee issued a report in March that urged the government to clarify Section 68.1. Last year, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that the federal information commissioner has the authority to order CBC to produce records for the commissioner’s review. The decision was related in part to outstanding requests for information about spending on CBC vehicles and the budget for its 75th anniversary celebrations. Last year, Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber put questions on the House of Commons order paper seeking the salaries and expenses of CBC broadcasters Peter Mansbridge, George Stroumboulopoulos, and CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix. Heritage Minister James Moore responded in January, saying the public broadcaster has about 730 employees who earn more than $100,000 a year. Private members' bills do not generally receive strict partisan support, though some support for Rathgeber's bill is expected from members of the Conservative government. In January, three Conservative MPs tabled petitions from their constituents that called on the government to defund CBC. The Conservative government’s 2012 federal budget, which cut spending across government, will reduce CBC's annual budget by $115 million in 2014-2015. CBC received $1.1 billion in annual parliamentary appropriations last year, amounting to about $34 per taxpayer. news@thewirereport.ca

Tory MP Rathgeber tables CBC transparency bill

Broadcast | November 5, 2012

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