Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets
    Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets
    Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets
    Ebook179 pages2 hours

    Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets

    By Jim Bronskill and David McKie

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Governments and institutions hold secrets you are entitled by law to know. But how do you exercise your right? In this definitive guide, you will learn how to gain access to information and how to pry loose records governments and institutions would prefer not to release. This book walks you through the maze and over the obstacles that stand in the way of your right to know. In the process you will learn more about how your tax dollars are spent and how key decisions and events were shaped. Perhaps most importantly, you'll learn how to do it all affordably and efficiently.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSelf-Counsel Press
    Release dateApr 30, 2015
    ISBN9781770409743
    Your Right To Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets
    Author

    Jim Bronskill

    Jim Bronskill is a reporter in the Ottawa bureau of The Canadian Press news agency, specializing in security and intelligence, the RCMP and justice-related issues. He holds a master's degree in journalism from Carleton University, where he has been a sessional lecturer since 2003. Jim has considerable experience using information laws to uncover stories. Before joining CP in 2003, he was a reporter with Southam News (now Postmedia News). Jim previously held various positions at CP and has also worked for the Ottawa Citizen, the Owen Sound Sun Times and TVOntario. He has received numerous honours for his reporting, and was part of a Canadian Press team that collaborated with the CBC/Radio-Canada to earn the 2008 Michener Award for their ongoing series on RCMP Taser use.

    Related to Your Right To Know

    Related ebooks

    Public Policy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How to File an FOIA Request

      Aug 18, 2020

      Want your ancestor’s application for a Social Security Card (called an SS-5), WWII alien registration form, or other federal record that isn’t already publicly available? You’ll need to send a Freedom of Information Act (or FOIA) request to the right

      1 min read

    • Article

      What To Consider When A Trust Is Involved In Legal Action

      Oct 17, 2020

      ANY LEGAL action by a trust must be properly brought in the names of the trustees. Since a trust is not a person and cannot act, when litigation is initiated the action must be brought (or defended) by its trustees. Although it is desirable to cite t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Throw Away a $12.06M Estate Tax Exemption by Accident

      Apr 14, 2022

      The federal estate tax exemption and gift exemption is presently $12.06 million. A married couple can transfer $24.12 million to their children or loved ones free of tax with proper planning. The exemption is tied to inflation, so it will continue to

      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Avoid Litigation Costs

      Oct 18, 2019

      How to Avoid Litigation Costs
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Unique Military Program Helps Sexual Assault Survivors. But Not All of Them.

      Jul 30, 2019

      The military gives lawyers to victims. But civilians—who make up hundreds of cases a year—are left to fend for themselves.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Common Law Principles And The CPA

      Dec 11, 2019

      Common Law Principles And The CPA
      1 min read

    • Article

      Repo Risk: Beware Illegal Car Repossessions

      Jun 13, 2022

      Used cars are suddenly so much more appealing than they used to be. With prices near historic highs and inventory near record lows, some officials are warning people with car loans that unscrupulous lenders may use more aggressive - and possibly ille

      4 min read

    • Article

      Trustees Are Accountable To The Master Of The High Court

      Jan 16, 2021

      A TRUSTEE of a trust is accountable at all times to the Master of the High Court and to beneficiaries. If trustees’ actions (a single or multiple trustees) contravene either the provisions of the Trust Property Control Act or the trust instrument, th

      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Search for Old Savings Bonds

      May 1, 2018

      [Question]My grandfather and father passed away when I was 8 years old. I heard they had savings bonds for me. I'm 37 now and have no one left to ask about it. How do I find out if there really are any savings bonds for me, and how do I go about find

      2 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Mess With The IRS

      Aug 6, 2020

      Don’t Mess With The IRS
      6 min read

    • Article

      What Trustees Should Know About Property Transactions

      Apr 17, 2021

      UNDER the Alienation of Land Act, any deed of sale of immovable property has to be in writing, and the parties thereto or their agents have to be legally authorised to act at the time of signing of the contract. Section 2(1) of the act provides that

      4 min read

    • Article

      There’s A Bond For That

      Apr 6, 2021

      There’s A Bond For That
      2 min read

    • Article

      How To Add Treasury Bonds, Bills And Notes To An IRA

      May 16, 2019

      [Question]Can you purchase Treasury securities for an IRA directly from the U.S. Treasury through TreasuryDirect? How can you add them to an IRA? [Answer]TreasuryDirect.gov is intended as a way for individuals to buy securities from the Treasury and

      1 min read

    • Article

      When A Trustee Can And Cannot Be Removed

      Feb 20, 2021

      TRUSTEES are legally vested with the administration of a trust’s assets. They must manage the assets and liabilities of the trust in terms of the provisions of the trust instrument and the law, and not necessarily in a manner that pleases the benefic

      3 min read

    • Article

      How to Get Your Estate Plan Done While Under Coronavirus Quarantine

      Mar 30, 2020

      The coronavirus lockdown began in the California counties of Sacramento, Palm Springs, Los Angeles and Ventura, issuing unprecedented orders for all residents to remain in their homes except for certain essential activities. Then Gov. Gavin Newsom ex

      5 min read

    • Article

      Don’t Subpoena Me, Bro

      Jun 20, 2017

      Don’t Subpoena Me, Bro
      5 min read

    • Article

      Meet The Eviction Defenders Helping To Keep Tenants At Home

      Jul 30, 2019

      A San Francisco program that guarantees legal counsel to renters reflects a reconsideration of the balance between landlords and tenant rights.

      6 min read

    • Article

      Does a Lawyer Owe You Money?

      Oct 3, 2019

      "While trying to find some guidance for my problem with a law firm that is dragging its feet in paying me for patent illustrations, I came across your 2008 article When Lawyers Don't Pay their Bills. It is about an attorney who refused to pay a real

      3 min read

    • Article

      When A Reporter Would Not Betray His Source, Police Came To His Home With Guns And A Sledgehammer

      May 12, 2019

      The banging jolted Bryan Carmody awake. Outside his San Francisco home Friday morning, the longtime journalist saw a throng of police officers with a sledgehammer, trying to break down his front gate. Carmody told the eight to 10 officers he would on

      4 min read

    • Article

      Do Trustees Become The Legal Guardians Of Your Children?

      Jul 24, 2020

      The guardianship of children is governed in terms of section 18 of the Children’s Act, whereas the role of trustees is governed by the common law and the Trust Property Control Act, explains Elmarie Neilson of Neilsons Attorneys. The powers of truste

      1 min read

    • Article

      How to Opt Out of Forced Arbitration

      Jul 3, 2019

      Heads up, Chase credit card customers: The issuer is adding a binding arbitration agreement to nearly all of its cards (excluding the AARP card)--but you still have time to opt out. Chase will soon bar cardholders from banding together in a class-act

      1 min read

    • Article

      Old Decision in Tax Lawsuit Gets New Spin

      Apr 6, 2019

      A website known for spreading misinformation writes that a man who cited religious reasons for not paying his income taxes "has won an historic lawsuit against the IRS." That's misleading. One charge was dropped, but four others have yet to be determ

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Lowdown on Living Trusts

      Mar 24, 2022

      If you’re putting together an estate plan, you have no doubt heard about the benefits of a living trust. Assets placed in a trust won’t go through probate, a time-consuming and potentially costly process. In addition, a living trust, also known as a

      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Your Right To Know

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Your Right To Know - Jim Bronskill

      Foreword

      I am often asked to explain why access to information is important to Canadians. In response, I point out that federal policies, programs, and laws touch so many aspects of our everyday lives — the regulation of health products, international travel, mail delivery, transportation, and food safety, just to name a few.

      Canadians give their government the authority to spend their taxpayers’ dollars, make policy decisions, and administer programs on their behalf. In return, they want to be informed of the rationale and outcome of government decisions and actions, they want to validate information that is provided to them, or they simply want to obtain more details about an issue of interest. Being able to request and receive government information empowers Canadians to participate in their democratic system.

      In Canada, we are fortunate that access to government information has been embedded in most federal, provincial, and territorial laws for more than 30 years. It is true that the federal access legislation and its administration have not kept pace with the rapid proliferation and sophistication of information technologies and new business models being used today, but its purpose and goals still remain sound.

      Given the limitations we are currently facing with the federal regime, now more than ever citizens should not take their right to know for granted. It is the role and the responsibility of all of us to champion the cause of transparency, to ensure accountability wherever taxpayers’ dollars are being spent, and to nurture a culture of openness in Canada.

      Although more and more Canadians are making access requests, for many, making a request may seem like an overwhelming task. That is why this guide is a fundamental tool, because it will help new users navigate the world of access to information and give them the confidence to exercise their right.

      I congratulate Jim Bronskill and David McKie for taking on the task of writing Your Right to Know: How to Use the Law to Get Government Secrets.

      This book will serve as a valuable resource for Canadians as they exercise their right to know.

      Suzanne Legault

      Information Commissioner of Canada, July 2014

      Introduction

      As journalists, we use freedom-of-information laws to help keep an eye on government institutions and other public bodies that do everything from police environmental regulations to protect people from terrorists. It has always been an important part of our jobs, and it has become increasingly necessary in an era of tightly scripted political messaging and rigorous information control.

      But journalists are only proxies for the average citizen: We ask the questions and seek out the records you might if you had the time to explore issues of public importance. That’s why we believe everyone with an interest in civic affairs can and should learn to use freedom-of-information laws to better inform themselves — and their communities — about the public agencies that touch so many aspects of our lives.

      This guide is for the person who wants to know more about the safety of the air they breathe and the water they drink; the researcher curious about government grants to corporations; and the family that wants to discover what their grandfather did as a soldier during the war.

      Our goal is to demystify the freedom-of-information process. Each year we ask the journalism students we teach whether they have ever filed an information request. Only a few put up their hands. And that’s where we will begin, with an assumption you know little or nothing about using the laws. You might even have a bit of trepidation about making a request. Laws, after all, can be intimidating. Filling out a form can be tedious and confusing. Government agencies have become synonymous with red tape and bafflegab. And who has the time and money to do all this?

      This guide will help you cut through the fog, with simple, step-by-step instructions on researching your subject of interest, drafting a request, dealing with agencies, and ultimately obtaining the records you seek — information that belongs to you.

      Part One

      Background

      Chapter 1

      History

      Freedom of information can be traced to the Age of Enlightenment and Sweden’s passage in 1766 of the first law to enshrine the principle of a public right of access to government records.

      The King’s ordinance,[1] issued in Stockholm, decreed that loyal subjects may possess and make use of a complete and unrestricted freedom to make generally public in print almost all government documents.

      The driving force behind the law, Anders Chydenius,[2] was a priest and philosopher from rural Finland, which was then part of Sweden. His thinking had a profound and lasting effect on democratic development in the Nordic countries and the principles would later take root around the world.

      Though it would be another 200 years before the United States passed its landmark Freedom of Information Act, the right to seek, receive, and impart information would be recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,[3] a 1948 resolution of the United Nations.

      The right to information has since been reinforced as a tenet of international law through subsequent pronouncements and court rulings.

      Canada was among the first countries to institute a freedom-of- information law. The Access to Information Act[4] was passed in 1982 and took effect on Canada Day the following year. All provinces and territories have followed suit with their own legislation.

      At last count, 99 countries[5] — from Australia to Yemen — had adopted laws.

      According to an analysis by the group Right2Info,[6] the right of access to official information is constitutionally protected in 59 countries.

      Various international organizations have advanced the cause through the creation of model laws and the promotion of high standards of openness.

      The trend is clear: The right to information is seen as a key element of the cherished right of free expression, a seemingly unstoppable movement that could help entrench democracy worldwide.

      


      1 The World’s First Freedom of Information Act, Right to Information, accessed September, 2014. http://rtieng.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/the-worlds-first-freedom-of-information-act/

      2 Publication on the World’s First Freedom of Information Act, Chydenius.net, accessed September, 2014. www.chydenius.net/eng/articles/artikkeli.asp?id=1021&referer=1&pages=1

      3 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN.org, accessed September, 2014. www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

      4 Access to Information Act, Government of Canada, accessed September, 2014. http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/A-1/

      5 Countries with Access Regimes, FreedomInfo.org, accessed September, 2014. http://freedominfo.org/documents/Countriesaccesslist.pdf

      6 Constitutional Protections of the Right to Information, Right2Info.org, accessed September, 2014. www.right2info.org/constitutional-protections

      Chapter 2

      The Laws

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1