Environment minister nixes roundtable’s information transfer plan

OTTAWA – The people who are winding down the controversial National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy say Environment Minister Peter Kent has nixed their plan to keep all their research public.

The government pulled funding from the roundtable a year ago, giving the advisory body until this Friday to shut down.

Acting chairman Robert Slater says the group had planned to hand over 25 years of research and analysis to think-tank Sustainable Prosperity to ensure it remained public.

But he says Kent sent him a letter last week telling him that Environment Canada would take over the information instead.

The letter also asks that no new information be added to the group’s website, even though two new documents were ready to be published, including the reflections of previous roundtable chairs and CEOs.

Environment Canada did not immediately provide an explanation, but Kent’s letter commits to following government policies on information management and publication.