Compelling government offices to disclose documents is part of our regular course of business. After all, we are criminal lawyers. So Freedom of Information requests are nothing new to us.
Back in 2000, when Ujjal Dosanjh was Premier, we obtained information about how many new cars were failing Aircare. It turns out, cars 10 years and newer almost never fail Aircare, so there was no point in taking them for testing. On the Friday when the Government gave us the information, they diverted the story by announcing that you would only need to have your car tested every 2 years if it was newer.
So you can thank us for that. We saved you a trip for Aircare testing.
In 2001 we learned through an FOI that ICBC was spending millions a year on TV commercials with the slogan “check out our rates.” Bearing in mind that ICBC has a monopoly on basic insurance, we though this was offensive and a waste of taxpayers money.
In East Germany in the socialist times there were advertisements on TV for Trabants. Of course, the only car you could buy was a Trabant. So the ads, all Orwellian doublespeak, were intended to suggest that life was good under the socialists — there was plenitude, you could choose between a Trabant or a Trabant.
Same thing with the NDP and ICBC. The commercials suggested that you have a choice when in fact you have none. Doublespeak. In BC our governments have mastered the language.
When the IRP scheme came out, we wanted to expose it or at the very least, investigate it to assist us in properly defending our clients. So we started making FOIs to offices where we thought some interesting documents would exist. We found lots of interesting stuff, some of which we passed on to media types. It took a lot of time and energy and we bottled up a lot of anger and frustration.
When the news stories made clear that you could be completely innocent and get an IRP, people started to stand up and take notice. That was our main goal, so in that sense it was worthwhile.
But we have many other questions. For example, when the IRP scheme was going full blast, officers mentioned to us in hallways and off the record that hit and runs were way up, along with cases where people refused to stop for the police. This confirmed what we observed and there is some research that has identified this. There is a link between harsh DUI laws and people trying to evade the police, sometimes by way of high-speed escape.
We do not have the time to investigate just what the stats are on hit and runs and evading the police between September 20, 2010 and November 30, 2011 when IRPs were being handed out left, right and centre. But if you have got the time, we would encourage our readers to make some FOIs.
Start with the Government, and perhaps some local BC police forces. Both organizations maintain these records and should be able to provide them pursuant to the provincial Freedom of Information legislation.
The first quarter of 2012 is almost over, so you should be able to obtain the numbers of alcohol related collisions for the period so far this year and for the same quarter in the previous five years. That might shed some light on the effectiveness of the IRP scheme.
We are curious about the Port Moody ASD calibration debacle. When we last requested information about the months-long investigation by the New West police we received a package with entire pages blacked out. Certainly there should be some conclusions by now. It took us less than 30 minutes to figure it out.
The Government has a new website called “Open Information” where you can access information that the Government wants you to be able to access. It is political. The information you will find will not make the Government particularly uncomfortable, and this type of disclosure allows hiding in plain sight. You will not find the answers to any of our questions there. Open Information is doublespeak. If it embarrasses the Government, you usually have to fight for it.
If you need some direction on obtaining any of the information above, or anything else interesting, send us a quick email. We will give you some direction.
We are short on time – we have invested hours and hours into these matter already over the last 2 years. It would be nice to have someone give us a hand.
If you want to know more about your next Trabant, watch the commercial.