By DEAN BEEBY
National Defence has long been a rogue institution in complying with the Access to Information Act. Its secretive practices are especially concerning after DND officials issued a controversial statement on the Gaza War and then flouted the law by refusing to deal with a journalist’s request for information on how they reached their conclusions.
The latest instance: Globe and Mail reporter Frederik-Xavier D. Plante requested internal military documents assessing the bombing of a hospital in Gaza. The department did not respond within the 30-day legislated window, did not take a time extension, and rebuffed an order from Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard to produce records, saying it will go to court to try to quash the order.
National Defence is a tough portfolio, to be sure, with plenty of military secrets and security procedures to safeguard.
The Gaza-related request, though, hit a hotbutton. In its statement, the department concluded the Israel Defense Forces was not responsible for a strike on a hospital that left at least 100 dead. Both the IDF and Hamas denied responsibility. Plante wanted to know the basis for the DND statement.
The obstinacy is frustrating but hardly surprising. In her most-recent annual report, Maynard said she had issued 32 orders against National Defence.
Maynard has gone to Federal Court three times to ask for a writ of mandamus, that is, a request that a judge order the department to implement her own order. All these wasteful legal skirmishes are being fought with public money.
One problem is that National Defence rotates military members into and out of its access-to-information unit relatively quickly, so there’s little opportunity to build competence. The strict hierarchy of the military fosters a deferential culture, which means there’s not always appropriate pushback by ATIP (Access to Information and Privacy) staff when a higher-ranking officer balks at releasing documents.
So journalists are often left in the lurch, obstructed from informing the public on one of Canada’s highest-spending and most impactful federal institutions. That’s why we know nothing about National Defence’s analysis of that Gaza incident. And why the department is so often free to operate without scrutiny and accountability.
Canadians are concerned about increasing misinformation and disinformation in the media ecosystem, and worry about its impact on democracy, says a poll from Abacus Data conducted for CPAC.
Dean is a WPFC director and authors a newsletter on ATI and transparency.
