No need for planned federal secrecy measures, says pro-openness group

OTTAWA – One of Canada’s most vocal advocates of government openness says there is no need for a federal plan to extend a permanent cloak of secrecy over the employees of almost a dozen new agencies.

The British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association says the planned measures seem to be a solution in search of a problem.

The Harper government wants to ensure the silence of past and present employees of nine federal agencies and those who used to toil at two now-disbanded branches.

Under the proposed rules, the prime minister’s national security adviser, federal lawyers who work on security cases, a former spy watchdog and many intelligence analysts would be forever prohibited from discussing sensitive aspects of their work.

They would join the more than 12,000 current and former federal intelligence officials already covered by Security of Information Act provisions, which force them to remain silent or face up to 14 years in prison.

In a letter to the federal Justice Department, the B.C. association says there is no justification for putting more public employees under a perpetual gag order.