1st time integrity questioned, democracy centre says
An advocacy group for stronger global open-records laws says it has never faced questions about its integrity until this week’s Bill 29 debate in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Centre for Law and Democracy “is no stranger to working in difficult political environments,” the organization noted in a Friday press release.
“Over the past year, we have conducted projects in Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Somalia and many other countries that are known for being particularly hostile to democratizing forces. However, this is the first time that the integrity and professionalism of our organization have ever been directly attacked by a political leader.”
At the request of CBC News, the Centre for Law and Democracy assessed changes to the province’s open-records law in Bill 29.
The Bill 29 amendments marked a “considerable drop” of eight points from the previous ranking, to 93 points out of 150.
That ranks Newfoundland and Labrador with other G8 nations, including Canada, behind countries such as Mexico, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Bulgaria, Guatemala and Uganda.
During debate at the legislature this week, while criticizing the CBC story as "cheap" and "amateurish," Justice Minister Felix Collins described the Centre for Law and Democracy as a “two-bit outfit.”
Collins questioned whether the centre was looking for money or donations.
“Canada is a democratic country, and treats its citizens with respect, as does this province of Newfoundland and Labrador," Collins said in the house of assembly Wednesday night.
“We have a charter of rights and freedoms. I don’t know if they have one in Ethiopia. I don’t know if they have a charter in Uganda, or Nigeria.”
But the Centre for Law and Democracy says the majority of the countries that placed above the province in its information law rankings have either medium, high or very high human development levels, according to a recent United Nations report. Three are members of the European Union.
“We stand by our research, which demonstrates that the Bill 29 substantially weakens the legal framework for access to information in Newfoundland,” the centre’s press release noted.
Bill 29 passed in the house of assembly early Friday morning.
