Erin wins national ‘Code of Silence’ award from journalism organizations

ERIN - The Town of Erin has been named the most secretive municipality in the country by four journalism organizations, largely for its efforts to deny Freedom of Information requests from the Wellington Advertiser.

The announcement was made on Feb. 24 by the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Centre for Free Expression (CFE) at Ryerson University, News Media Canada and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

The award – the Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy – went to Erin because the municipality has ignored or refused media interview requests, kept important meetings and decisions quiet from the media and, most glaringly, refused for two years to release details of severance payments made to staff over a specified time period.

“Erin refused these requests and Erin Mayor Allan Alls told the media they would not release these details unless forced to by the commission,” reads the citation in the announcement by the CFE.

The annual award intends to draw attention to government and public agencies that “put extra effort into denying public access to government information to which the public has a right under access to information legislation,” according to information on CFE website.

Past winners of the secrecy award include former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the RCMP, and agencies like Ontario Hydro.

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The Town of Erin, nominated by the Advertiser, beat out the following “honourable mentions” this year: North Bay; Cornwall; Cranbrook, BC; Morinville, Alberta; and Côte-Saint-Luc, Quebec.

Advertiser editor Chris Daponte said the issues with Erin are significant – especially for the public, who deserve to know all that can publicly be known.

He lists the town’s handling of a “strategic realignment,” the departure of more than 20 town employees (some quit, others were fired), the town contracting out its water services and its refusal to release employee severance information, as recent examples of the secrecy that surrounds Erin’s local government.

“In some cases, it seems, the town prefers to keep even the most basic information a secret,” said Daponte.

“The Advertiser newsroom has about 100 years of combined experience dealing with municipalities across Ontario and none of us has ever experienced these problems, to this degree, elsewhere.”

Mayor Allan Alls was surprised to learn of the town’s designation.

“We record our meetings; we’re open to the public. I don’t understand where this is coming from,” he said in a phone interview.

To be fair, Alls was in Florida and unaware of the dubious distinction for Erin.

When it was explained the designation had a lot to do with Freedom of Information requests and the town’s two-year refusal to release information that other Wellington  municipalities had more freely supplied, he conceded: “I don’t agree, but I get where it’s coming from.”

James Turk, director of the CFE at Ryerson University, said the goal of the award is not to shame anyone, but to demonstrate that legislation around Freedom of Information is weak.

“If the legislation is going to change, the public has to be aware,” Turk said.

“In the case of Erin, it was the pattern of resistance that caught our eye, and also the process of all communication going through a communication department. And then the [privacy commissioner case] ... to block the release of information.

“It’s a control mechanism. It’s putting obstacles in the way of journalists. And journalists are the eyes and ears of the community.”

Daponte stressed the Advertiser does not have an axe to grind with the town or any staff  members.

“It is our hope that this national ‘recognition’ from four independent press-freedom advocacy groups will force town officials to see the error of their ways and be forthright, once and for all, with Erin residents and the media,” he said.