{"id":15297,"date":"2021-03-02T16:31:58","date_gmt":"2021-03-02T21:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caj.ca\/?p=15297"},"modified":"2022-11-17T16:38:21","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T21:38:21","slug":"ottawa-police-service-recognized-for-outstanding-achievement-in-government-secrecy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/caj.ca\/fr\/ottawa-police-service-recognized-for-outstanding-achievement-in-government-secrecy\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa Police Service recognized for ‘Outstanding Achievement’ in government secrecy"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ottawa Police Service has been named as the recipient of the 2020 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the law enforcement category.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is being recognized for its complete and utter violation of both the spirit and intent of Freedom of Information legislation. As reported in <\/span>The Ottawa Citizen<\/span><\/i><\/a>, a grieving family applied to the Ottawa Police Service, under Ontario\u2019s Freedom of Information law, for a copy of an \u201caccident reconstruction report\u201d that could have helped explain to them why a family member died tragically in a pedestrian road incident.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The OPS acknowledged the report was available, but would only release it to the family if they paid a fee of nearly $2,500. The reason reported for this exorbitant fee was not to process and compile the report but for the OPS to recoup the cost of creating a report that was required in the normal course of their investigation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis case is an absolute travesty of the freedom of information system,\u201d said James Turk, director of the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a police force attempt to pass on the costs of conducting an investigation, which they were already obliged to do, to a grieving family is beyond the pale. It really makes me question who the police force is working to serve.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Code of Silence Awards are presented annually by The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ); the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University (CFE); News Media Canada; and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The intent of the awards is to call public attention to government or publicly funded agencies that work hard to hide information to which the public has a right under access to information legislation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, police forces<\/span><\/a> in Sudbury, Ont., Windsor, Ont., Peterborough, Ont., Longueuil, QC., Quebec City, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, and the Ontario Provincial Police shared the distinction. The <\/span>Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)<\/span><\/a> has also been recognized for its unwillingness, or inability, to readily provide information to the public mandated under the federal Access to Information Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2020 Code of Silence Awards have also recognized:<\/span><\/p>\n