In yesterday’s post about the new filing against the King government for a contempt order Maines is hoping to obtain on February 6th, the date set for the Motion Hearing, I mentioned there is now a “5th” deemed refusal by the King government, and that one is one of my e-gaming investigative FOIP requests seeking records that Brad Mix had sent or received from John Eden from Eden’s email archives.

I don’t believe in coincidences. All of these refusals pertain to Brad Mix’s records. Two years of his records (in two separate archives) mysteriously went missing, and an Order from the Information Commissioner will be coming out on that sometime before June, 2020.

The government must be very concerned (afraid?) with what they discovered when they became the government. No other explanation comes to mind to explain the outrageous and absolute flip-flop on e-gaming and the CMT lawsuit, and the quite irrational non-compliance with our basic Freedom of Information provincial laws, not to mention our Charter Rights.

I received an email this afternoon from the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Karen Rose, with an attached letter she sent to the Deputy Minister of Economic Growth, Tourism and Culture, Erin McGrath-Gaudet on this file.

First, read my letter to Ms. Rose sent via email on January 6th, requesting an Order compelling the King government to follow it’s own law.

>> Kevin Arsenault <kja321@gmail.com> 1/6/2020 6:29 PM >>>

Dear Ms. Rose,

I hope you had a nice break over the holidays and, all the best in 2020.

My instinct is that 20/20 is going to provide Islanders with some new insight into just how difficult it is to receive an honest, complete and supportive response from the government when requesting information or documents as a tax-paying citizen.

When I look back over the past two years, and all the time and money and effort I put into trying to obtain information from the PEI government on e-gaming, I honestly wonder why I bother. If it’s this difficult for me, someone with a fair bit of experience doing this kind of investigative work, it makes me think that most Islanders would not be able to navigate the system to even initiate a process to get information.

This is not the way the system is supposed to work. The government is supposed to cooperate with applicants and assist them in getting expeditious access to the information they are seeking. Yet, it seems there has been a perennial, systemic bias in government against releasing information, and the objective always seems to be to release as “little as possible” rather than “as much as possible.”

I’m not sure if the promised “additional resources” in the PC pre-election platform have trickled down to your office yet, and I know you have a lot on your desk; however, I’m not getting a response on this Access Request, so I’m treating it as a failure to provide me with the records to which I have a right under the FOIPP Act and I’m seeking your assistance in getting these records.

I’m not sure what else to do but to request an Order from you compelling the Department to produce the records in accordance with the provisions of the FOIPP Act to which they are bound.

Sincerely,

Kevin J. Arsenault, Ph.D.

Attachments:

Acknowledgment of FOIP Request Letter

Request for Extension

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Following is the Letter Ms. Rose sent to Deputy Minister Erin McGrath-Gaudet today:

There’s lots more happening in the coming days. I’ll do my best to publish the most important information by way of updates.