Government expands list of agencies subject to muzzling law
James Gordon
The Ottawa Citizen
Sunday, August 14, 2005
A federal government plan to permanently muzzle current and former employees of 14 entities with access to national security information is an affront to press freedom, the Canadian Newspaper Association warns.
A provision in the Security of Information Act -- passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- allows the government to bind bureaucrats to secrecy for life to protect a wide range of "special operational information."
Members of the RCMP, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and similar agencies are already subject, but plans were quietly published in March to expand the list to include the Privy Council Office, the Justice Department, National Defence and others.
In a letter to the Justice Department -- obtained under the Access to Information Act -- the newspaper association slammed the idea of more censorship at a time when "public confidence in the government is at an all-time low.
"The argument that matters of national security demand unconditional immunity from public scrutiny is one that must be roundly rebutted," says the letter, penned by David Gollob, the association's vice-president of public affairs.
Mr. Gollob says the government must demonstrate the legitimacy of curtailment of press freedom protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"Press freedom is curtailed when the sources of journalistic investigation are forcibly prevented, in this case by the threat of incarceration, from providing information to the media," the letter reads.
Data considered "special operational information" includes names of past confidential sources, military plans, names of spies and persons or groups who were targets of covert intelligence efforts by Canadian spy services.
A person sworn to secrecy who reveals such information could face up to 14 years in prison. The legislation applied to 5,000 to 6,000 bureaucrats in 2003.
The government insists the move is crucial, adding "great care" was taken to ensure the agencies "have or had a mandate that is primarily related to security or intelligence matters."
Yet some critics have called the whole process "nonsense," complaining that swearing bureaucrats to secrecy until the day they die is overkill.
The government hasn't yet decided whether to proceed with listing some or all of the proposed new divisions.
The newspaper association is calling on the government to suspend any decision until a fuller public discussion takes place. There was a 30-day window for public comment following publication of the proposed additions. The newspaper association's letter was the only submission.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2005
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Anybody want to defend this one?
