Wake up to the age of new technology, Mayor Hughes…
And ‘tighten up your own ship before shifting the blame’
Letter sent to local media by Stephanie MacLellan, Beeton
I grew up during the birth of internet technology but never became well-versed in it.
I know the basics. Computers make things lightning fast and can hold an abundance of information within tiny little spaces which you can access with a quick search and voila, there’s that email from two years ago that you knew was saved somewhere. Records are easy to keep. So why in this age of technology would anyone think retrieving public records from our municipalities should cost more than it did even 20 years ago? Frankly, thanks to technology, it should cost less. Let’s face it, it’s 2016, the days of manually digging through the archives in the basement are almost unheard of. Most, if not all municipalities, today have their public records at their finger tips, in digital files, that are easily retrieved.
Alas, during the Feb., 8, 2016 New Tecumseth Council meeting, our councillors voted 9-1 in favour of supporting a motion from Oro-Medonte Township Council’s that requests the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing “review and update of the fees provisions in MFIPPA (Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) and in Ontario Regulation 823 to ensure that they are more reflective of current and actual costs incurred in responding to requests for access to requested records and to ensure they include provisions for the collection of all or part of the costs involved in preparing a fee estimate.” Here in New Tecumseth, the only councillor that didn’t support this nonsense was Richard Norcross.
O-M outsourced Burl’s Creek FOI work
It sounded like a reasonable request until I read some of the reasons cited in Oro-Medonte’s letter to the MMAH.
The Township of Oro-Medonte incurred almost $60,000 in net costs, which included a computer forensic company, and for legal advice for a FOI request last year in regards to its battle with the Burl’s Creek Events Ground issue. (The two sides are now before the OMB fighting over a temporary use by-law.) Turns out, it seems, the Township outsourced the job of searching its records to a private firm and must not have asked for a quote or estimate and then tried to pass that cost estimate on to the person requesting the records. Why would the Township spend all the money hiring a firm to search for records without having first received a substantial deposit from the requester?
It states very clearly in the MFIPPA regulation 823 section 7. (1) “If a head gives a person an estimate of an amount payable under the Act and the estimate is $100 or more, the head may require the person to pay a deposit equal to 50 per cent of the estimate before the head takes any further steps to respond to the request.” I know New Tecumseth follows this rule from personal experience, so why didn’t Oro-Medonte?
The Township also states in its letter to the MMAH that “the fees set out in Ontario regulation 823 were established over 20 years ago and have not been updated and do not reflect anywhere near the actual cost incurred.” Actually Oro-Medonte, Regulation 823 has been updated many times throughout the years, in 1997, 2007, 2011, 2012, and just last year in May. If you look at 1997’s update, you will notice in Regulation 823 section 6, it refers to “floppy disks.” Fast forward to all copies of the Act from 2007 to present, in the same section, it now refers to “CD-ROM.” It would appear the fee section has been reviewed over the years as well.
In an article from Orillia Today January 22, 2016, Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes (who seems to have spearheaded this motion) said, “What we are trying to do is ensure the system is not open to abuse.” On the Oro-Medonte website under “Role of Council,” it states, “To maintain the financial integrity of the Municipality.” Would that not translate to the Township of Oro-Medonte first and foremost adhering to the rules and regulations set out in the MFIPPA in regards to collecting fees?
I just think before Mr. Hughes suggests that the system could be open to abuse, the Mayor himself, Council and staff would want to be diligent and responsible in making sure Township staff is handling FOI requests in the most efficient way possible to maintain their financial integrity. I’m not so sure being left with a bill for almost $60,000 and being able to re-coup $0 is going to lead them down the path of financial integrity.
‘Oops, we didn’t read the map right’
Mayor Hughes argues the Council is only trying to protect taxpayers from unnecessary costs. Why is it politicians use arguments only when it suits them and then completely disregard them when it does not suit them? Case in point, regarding another issue that happened at the end of 2015, Oro-Medonte said, ‘Oops, we didn’t read the map right’ and destroyed an environmentally protected wetland to put in a parking lot, forgot to mention it to the Conservation Authority (that basically governs all of the watershed), didn’t have it properly zoned, no public meetings, no signage posted, and of course no communication with residents. Now after resident Paul Sanderson sounded the alarm, the Conservation Authority said the Township needs to remediate the wetland back to its original state, like that’s even possible.
So tell me again, how Oro-Medonte council is trying to protect taxpayers from unnecessary costs? Oh but don’t worry Mayor Hughes said “For some reason, there was an oversight of reading the maps on what areas are environmentally protected.” That’s one hell of an oversight Mr. Mayor.
Taking responsibility when things don’t go as planned would be my first suggestion. My second would be you tighten up your own ship before shifting the blame. The provisions are within the MFIPPA to collect your costs, all your costs.
The province gives municipalities all the regulations they need to recoup all costs associated with FOI requests. It’s right there in black and white. It’s astonishing how quickly, and easily, one council will jump on another council’s bandwagon if they sound the alarm for support. We the people can do deputations that are usually met with blank stares. We can get loud, have protests, write letters, research until the wee hours of the morning and it’s like pulling teeth trying to get Council to even make it seem like they are giving residents the time of day.
Fees haven’t been increased because the cost of retrieving records has gone down over the years due to advancements in technology. Ironically, this story emerged the same week Canada’s Information and Privacy Commissioners and Ombudspersons wrote a news release “calling on all levels of Government to protect and promote privacy and access to information rights when embarking on information sharing initiatives aimed at improving government services.”
So, I hope going forward, New Tecumseth councillors can focus on wanting to help and represent their constituents as fast, and with such certainty, as they want to help their fellow politicians.
BULLSEYE!! Experience has also taught us to look for the MOTIVES behind such actions by politicians – distraction from misguided decisions, spending, and subsequent tax increases?
Thank you Stephanie for your thorough research for your article and for bothering to write the article. You have given us valuable information about the workings of the Mayor and staff at Oro-Medonte.
Stephanie … Thank you for taking the time to expose what is truly a farce. When the Township announced that it cost in excess of $60k to retrieve info from its’ filing system, my sense of credulity was severely tested. I suspect this was more an attempt to NOT make the information available than it was to provide freedom of information. The Township would know full well that nobody could afford to pay those kind of costs to access the requested information and therefore the issue and background details would remain safely guarded from Public scrutiny. As all the taxpayers of Oro-Medonte have contributed to the cost of retrieving this data, it should now be available to anybody who requests it. Otherwise the $60k will have simply been a waste of taxpayers dollars.
Hi Stephanie,
When you are ready to run for Mayor I will be very happy to sign your nomination papers. We could use your insight here in Oro-Medonte. You are more in touch with the issues than the Mayor ever was or will be. His best-before date has long since gone….
Paul Sanderson.