Thread by @Protect_BC

"Knowledge is Power - So Why is BC Hiding #COVID19 Data?" - this discussion starts at noon today, featuring
@brish_ti
@seanmholman
& @Protect_BC's @kerricoombs. We will be live-tweeting it - follow along here.

If you have Qs for the panelists, tweet them to us!
#bcpoli

https://twitter.com/Protect_BC/status/1495215312655974404

@brish_ti @seanmholman @kerricoombs Starting now! @kerricoombs from @Protect_BC is introducing our panel on BC Covid data opacity, with special guests reporter @brish_ti and U of Victoria journalism prof @seanmholman #bcpoli

If you have Qs for the panel, you can tweet them at us.

@kerricoombs is talking about BC having been forced to admit, early on when challenged by SARS Inquiry head Mario Possamai, that it had been hiding data. @seanmholman now talking of the damage to democracy & trust in govt when information is withheld - incl conspiracy theories.

Now reporter @brish_ti of @CapitalDailyVic: what she has heard from researchers from the beginning of the pandemic that BC's refusal to share timely data is hindering their ability to understand the pandemic and produce regulation.

Q: individuals are entitled to privacy; gov't is not. The BC govt is hiding data & citing protecting individual privacy as the reason. Where is the line? @seanmholman: "govt has appropriated privacy to its own ends, and that is very destructive." #bcpoli

.seanmholman 'The NDP, which brought in transparency legislation, is now blocking transparency and this is extremely disturbing.'

@brish_ti: early in 2021 when alpha had just arrived in BC, BC said it had no neighbourhood-level data (avail in other provinces) & was caught out..

Then @brish_ti filed an FOI for that information. After the leak of that information, which had been held back, the govt was forced to release some of it. It was later found that that data did not threaten individual privacy; it had been a false concern or pretext.

.@seanmholman talking about the withholding of data having increased BC's and Dr. Henry's reputation internationally [was that the aim?] because the impression of our deaths and cases was better than the reality.

...@kerricoombs mentioning that the BC govt recently won the Canadian Centre for Freedom of Expression's Secrecy Award, despite the fact that the NDP government claims it is as transparent as any jurisdiction in North America. Untrue.

.@brish_ti on the difficulty of gaining information. She waited 21 weeks for information from MHO Stanwick of @VanIslandHealth - "insanely long timelines" - and has to ask for information so far in advance of a story.

.@seanmholman we're seeing govt propaganda on this issue...

.@seanholman we have a very small window to restore evidence-based democracy. If govt isn't openly seen to be transparent, people will continue to seek certainty and control in other areas, and we have seen all too clearly lately where they will seek it from. #bcpoli #covid19bc

.@kerricoombs on the fact that timeliness is key for transparency. Asking @seanmholman if this has been going on for quite some time; is it getting worse?

Sean: after the bombs dropped on Japan in WWII, there was handwringing over why 2 devastating wars were allowed to happen...

.@seanmholman The idea among allied countries was that had the German people had information on what was actually going on, they may have stopped the wars. The idea of "evidence=action" has strong roots. The author of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson stressed information; Nader too..

.@seanmholman This is also the foundation of investigative journalism; if we have the information, we can support democracy. This FOI movement has been eroding since the 1980s.

Q for @brish_ti - when govt says "we know from experts" - do you ever question who that is?

.@brish_ti Sometimes govt cites sources; sometimes not. Last month Dr. Henry claimed Long Covid cases have dropped since Delta, but Brishti could not find this data, and asked Min of Health. That Min should share that when asked, but doesn't...

.@brish_ti One of the biggest pieces of data we lack in BC is race-based data, as we know BIPOC are disproportionately impacted by Covid because we see this in other jurisdictions who share that data freely [see King County/Seattle for great example!]

.@seanmholman The US is so much better than us in Canada at collecting equity data, also with respect to Covid - it's been better than Canada for a very long time. We got FOI in Canada primarily because we recognized the US was doing it better...

.@seanmholman: Canadian journalists had to get data on Canadian industry by getting it from US sources! @sarahcox_bc has had to do this also, and has been clear on the stark difference between WA state and BC in terms of cooperation with FOI requests

@seanmholman: You also see this with govt muzzling of scientists, which we saw [during Harper] and which has not improved. Holman actually started in govt comms in late 90s early 2000s and saw changes in that time - they started acting as intermediaries between pols/govt & media.

@seanmholman: ie govt comms people became the govt spokespeople, not the experts in govt. This has accelerated. This is a public relations state, which begain in the postwar period but has grown stronger. But again the US is so much better.

Holman: I can call up the US and get an answer nearly right away. You can't get that in BC - @brish_ti agrees.

Holman: if we can only get propaganda from govt & corporations, we don't live in a democracy, & the PR field needs to look at how it's abusing message control..

.@kerricoombs How do we dig ourselves out of this undemocratic situation, with citizens turning to conspiracy theories and right wing movements?

@brish_ti "That's the Q of the decade, or even the century. I don't have an answer. But govt sharing information would be a start"

But with the sheer quantity of misinformation is that enough:
@seanmholman My whole Q has been built around evidence=action idea, power of journalism, but this is disappearing. Over next 30 yrs as climate change & political destablization accelerate, we will...

.. we will seek other forms of certainty and control, we will turn to community. Those of us who believe in evidence, we should be involved in forming new communities based on evidence=action & on equity. The alternative will be much worse. We can't win evidence battle on its own

.@seanmholman That's depressing I know!
.@kerricoombs It's depressing but it's also encouraging because that's what we are doing here with @Protect_BC, coming together and trying to create the basis for community, as an alternative to conspiracy theories etc.

.@seanmholman I read a lot of work from the 70s because in many ways we are living in a similar time, when the world was waking up to the potential of self-annihilation (nukes, pollution, stagflation, serial killers). We can learn from some of this, if not all...

.@seanmholman Often times we forget history - we're not in an evidence=action time anymore, but we can still learn from that time.

.@brish_ti When we don't have access to govts & experts, we're left with messaging - we have to go to people on the ground. This is positive but..

.@brish_ti It's still outrageous that when we have to seek information from the ground that they have to be anonymous because their employers/govt have clamped down on transparency.

This is yet more muzzling of scientists... #bcpoli

Qs from the general public:
Q from Facebook - what can citizens do to push back against govt propaganda.
@brish_ti - have conversations with people in your lives, and gently insert your evidence into their thought processes... easier than pushing back on govt

.@seanmholman agrees - personal connections make all the difference in a fact-resistant society. Transmit your own lived experience. And keep these things in mind when election time comes - don't think short term; think long-term. Consider climate change, public health, housing

Q from @npescod from CHEK News:
(paraphrasing) Island Health is suppressing active case data - how much of a problem is this going forward?
.@brish_ti Yes. right now we can rely only on hospitalizations, and we don't have exact numbers on that either & it's not timely

.@brish_ti the Covid BC Modelling Group can't do proper analysis because there isn't timely uploading

.@brish_ti POC are disproportionately affected by Covid; if we don't acknowledge there's a problem, advocates can't use that data. Other jurisdictions seamlessly do it, so it can be done
.@seanmholman We should absolutely be collecting race-based data; problem doesn't go away!

@seanmholman The US was being very public about Covid in the military - it was critical for them to have this information for national security, and it was a key source of information about Covid for Canada, in absence of our own.

How has the lack of transparency affected BC's pandemic response?
@brish_ti We've covered some of this already, but in general the opacity has led to public doubts about govt measures. And BC hasn't been able to back up its measures with public data, since it's absent.

.@kerricoombs Noticing people in her neighbourhood dropping their guard because they've heard from govt that 'Omicron is mild' - data would help. Govt complains kids aren't being vaccinated, after it claimed Covid is mild... Real data on Covid side fx would counteract this too

.@kerricoombs Hospitals are stretched, record numbers of people are sick, with unknown long-term risks, but we are opening up regardless - which can only happen because we lack data and transparency around what's actually going on in BC.

Final Q from Cindy Lee: does the increasing privatization of information management in healthcare contribute to lack of transparency?
Holman: whenever you remove something from govt, it will contribute to a lack of information. But the bigger challenge re lack of info in Canada..

is the move from prescriptive regulations to results-based regulations. Eg with a stream, the former is don't do x,y,z. The latter is 'don't destroy the stream.'

It's weird that in Canada we collect less and less data vs. the US - it's the opposite of what we think of Canada

And that's a wrap! Thanks everyone for joining us. Just a reminder that we have another briefing on Thursday, with 2 internationally renowned aerosol scientists, with tips on how to make your home or business safe from Covid. Join us! #bcpoli

https://twitter.com/Protect_BC/status/1495578197873856518

@brish_ti @VanIslandHealth @seanmholman *Just a correction - @brish_ti said several weeks, not 21 - more like 21 days, our mistake!