Edmonton council launches review of city secrecy policies

After several city decisions caused him "grave concern," Coun. Mike Nickel called on his fellow councillors Tuesday to review how the city decides what information is kept from public view.

Council unanimously approved a review that will look at Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy requests, closed-door council debates, and contracts kept secret for the benefit of third parties.

"This is not Area 51," Nickel told reporters, referring to the U.S.Air Force facility in Nevada best known for the shroud of secrecy around it.

"There's been a number of people on council who are also concerned about what's in private and what's not in private … and how long we should be sitting on information."

Nickel said a number of FOIP requests from the public and the media have been denied by city information co-ordinators.

It's public funds, it's public resources, it's of public interest.- Coun. Mike Nickel

In council, he's noticed a trend toward administration opting to present information to council verbally, eliminating the possibility of any documentation, and giving public information to councillors with memos rather than public city reports.

Sunset clauses may help, Nickel says

Finally, he asked administration to review the public disclosure of contracts and contract arbitration. He suggested instituting sunset clauses so the information is released after it's no longer sensitive.

For example, the city's case against Metro Line contractor Thales may be kept under wraps forever because of the arbitration clause in the contract.

Nickel said at the very least, those issues should eventually come to light.

"It should not be able to stay in private for perpetuity. It's public funds, it's public resources, it's of public interest," Nickel said.

"There's some things we need to fix here."

Mayor Don Iveson supported Nickel's motion but defended council's practices. He said in his experience, matters are only dealt with privately when it's warranted to protect the city's interest.

"The city's default approach should always be openness and disclosure," Iveson said. "I think everyone one of us on council believes strongly in the principle of transparency."

Council will debate the findings of the report in the fall.