Federal information follies SOME public thoughts about private matters: Your federal pols are having a tough time of late dealing in any sane way with private ver- sus public information. We're not talking about an airing of dirty laundry here. We're talk- ing about getting some priori- ties straight for the public As is too often the case, Ottawa has a hard time with those priorities. And even a harder time with any good beyond political. Consider, for example, the recent furor over the treasure trove of personal information the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) has on over 33 mil- lion Canadians. Privacy Commissioner Bruce Phillips fired the warn- ing shots on this one after determining that, among other “things, the information had been shared with companies and researchers outside the vernment without the pub- ic’s consent. . His revelation that HRDC _ had the detailed personal file "information in the first place was a news flash for most . other Canadians. Jane Stewart, the head of the screwball department on the hot seat earlier this year for ° mismanaging $1 billion in job creation funds, originally assured Canadians that the :. information was in good hands. i : "Not to worry, citizens. “-., Considering the source, Canadians rightly feared the “worst. As did Justice Minister Anne McLellan, who subse- -« quendy announced that her yarns department would review the country’s Privacy Act. As an encore to her wot- we-worry? act a few days earli- er, Stewart performed another in a series of gymnastic politi- cal backflips and announced that her HRDC snoop file on Canadians would be scrapped. Not surprisingly, the deci- sion came only after huge public outcry — without which that private personal information would be in God knows whose hands. Here’s more to worry about courtesy of your friendly MPs. The feds, who are confused about the public’s right :o pri- vacy, also have a hard time fig- uring out the public’s right to public information. Consider, for exampie, Bill C-79. The legislation, which received Royal assent last June and was proclaimed into law last December, replaced the “rape shield” section of the Criminal Code with far bread- ¢r provisions for restricting public access to information in public court proceedings. The previous Criminal Code section allowed for bans on the publication of names of witnesses involved in sexual “assault, extortion or blackmail cases, And .,hile publication bans are unsavoury at the best of times for newspapers and other media who are endeav- ouring to keep the public court system public, they can in some cases be justified. Rape and sexual assault tials are two good examples. But the new legislation aliows any witness or any com- plainant of any alleged crime to apply to have their names banned from publication. An open court system is a comerstone of any democracy worth its sale. As the oft-repeated saw states: Justice must be seen to be done. Clearly seen, that is. Obstructions, smoke-screens, dodges, barricades and duck blinds of any sort just won't do the trick. Anonymity erodes justice. Openness improves a court’s honesty; it improves evidence; and it keeps judges, lawyers, witnesses and laws themselves under public scruti- ny. In short it keeps the system accountable, Bill C-79"s impact has yet to be felt, because there has thus far been no wholesale rush to apply for bans using the new faw. But it’s just a matter of time before that happens. Prior to Bill C-79’s pas- sage, 2 group of Canadian media lawyers took their con- cerns about the legislation to the Senate. But those concerns fell on deaf ears — there being more of those than any other type of ears in the Upper House, Under the guise of address- ing the politically appealing cause of victims’ rights, the legislation was passed into law, ay amily Festival : Protecting Our Oceans Fe or The New Millennium .. Sunday, June 11 ian ~ 4pm Wi AT ecliff Park west Vancouver "Free shottle hus to Pork : frem Gleneagles School field (6350 Marine Dr) wide open ocean will entertain you. “3100p (Approx) block Marine Drive) . whee abe Support Ocouns Day Another Way / at Capers ir: West Vancouver on Wednesday Jure léth s OStt ste coe dayol oe fo terete ted . 7 : ' Gcoans Day Sponsors: Parks | Parcs Canada Canada par Tur. West Vancouver BH FOUNDATION warts and all. But neither vic- tims nor anyone else will bene- fit from a less transparent court system. Some witnesses and victims get hurt in court cases, but that’s a small price to pay for justice. Media lawyer David Sutherland also points out that the Criminal Code changes favour those who have the money to hire lawyers — good lawyers — to argue their cases for anonymity. Those without the fiscal firepower will largely be out of luck. A two-tiered justice sys- tem is likewise bad for democ- racy’s good health. For newspapers, communi- ty or other, navigating court- imposed publication bans is already fraught with danger. Expanding the scope of publication bans will increase that danger a hundredfold. Attempting to unravel ban specifics and how details of court proceedings could iden- tify those covered under publi- cation bans will be prohibitive- ly complex. Many newspapers, lacking the expertise or the legal resources, will simply forge court coverage. Justice, in that case, will not be scen at all. 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