🧵Can we believe @bcndp pandemic data? #BCgov has under-tested and made #covid19 case/death reporting errors along the way. I wanted to know how many and whether they were corrected. This is about science and history. I filed an #cdnFOI request last July. #bcpoli#GiveUsData
I asked for B.C.-wide and health region correction and revision notices for March-July 2020. The original due date: Sept. 14. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#coronavirus#GiveUsData#FOIA
Instead of documents, I got a bill for $270. Less than two weeks before @jjhorgan took time off from the #coronavirus pandemic and called a very costly snap election. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#FOIA
In December, I pleaded for a fee waiver. This is about the public interest. I cited the @BCOmbudsperson report about the Ministry of Education’s disinformation. All ministries must be held to the same standard, must communicate accurately to the public. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
My request to cancel the fee was denied. @bcndp again demanded I pay $270 “information ransom” to see documents about #coronavirus data errors and corrections. #bcpoli#GiveUsData#cdnfoi
Under duress and with diminishing faith in @McEvoy_Michael to stand up for freedom of the press (guarding privacy is his priority), I agreed in February to narrow my records request to the month of March 2020. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#GiveUsData#covid19
It took more than a month for @adriandix ministry to cancel the fee. After I had agreed to narrow from five months to one. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#coronavirus
On March 30, I was told they needed until May 14 to do their job and get me the records. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#GiveUsData
So I wait and I wonder about the accuracy and reliability of the #coronavirus pandemic data @adriandix and @DrBonnieHenry have delivered to British Columbians. It’s about history and it’s about science. It’s about your right to know. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#covid19
The punchline? Our premier, John Horgan, said this on Nov. 18, 2020: “We're not hiding anything. We have been as transparent as any jurisdiction in North America."
I call BS. You’re not doing your level best, @jjhorgan.
🧵What’s B.C.'s biggest "media operation"? Perhaps only rivalled by @cbcnewsbc, it’s Government Communications and Public Engagement (GCPE), the people behind @BCGovNews. Annual budget ~$28M. The PR dept. of #bcgov is managed by @bcndp political appointees. #bcpoli
The executive committee is generally cabinet-appointed. Deputy Minister @DonZadravec spent 10 years at National PR and was a lobbyist for a pipeline company. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
The Assistant Deputy Minister's Office of Strategic Communications is now headed by Sage Aaron, @jjhorgan former communications director who was transferred from the Premier's office in September. #bcpoli#cdnfoi
This morning, @bcndp#bcgov tells me it has rejected my #FOI request about Dr. Bonnie Henry at the @Canucks game, because she was allegedly there as a private citizen, not because she is the provincial health officer. Where have I seen that lame excuse before? 🤔#bcpoli#cdnfoi
Last year, Dr. Bonnie Henry co-authored a book with her sister. When I wanted to know about the contract and other details, I was told I couldn’t see them. The “private citizen” excuse was invoked. #bcpoli#cdnfoi#FOIAFriday thebreaker.news/news/bonnie-bo…
🧵@adriandix made Telus CEO Darren Entwistle a special advisor to @BC_EHS. Dix and Entwistle have a bond and Entwistle is one of B.C.’s top corporate minds. While other telecoms invested in media and sports, Telus went aggressively into healthcare. #bcpoli
The Telus 2020 annual report management discussion and analysis reveals how important the healthcare sector is to Telus. #bcpoli
Even more about Telus health from the 2020 MD&A. #bcpoli
That letter refers to a @CDCofBC 2017 publication, which shifts responsibility to the regional health boards and municipalities. #BCGov has a nuclear emergency response plan (among others), but no top-down plan for a heat emergency. #bcpoli#cdnfoibccdc.ca/resource-galle…
Today's statement from information and privacy commissioners comes MORE THAN A YEAR after Canadian COVID-19 Accountability group, including @seanmholman, sounded the alarm.
The statutory watchdogs waited more than a year to speak as one. #bcpoli#cdnfoi drive.google.com/file/d/1dpm3eQ…