Freedom of Information Act

To get rid of language that no longer applies.

Um, another one that was mentioned was like, you know, obviously the legislature has been having a lot of trouble getting through FOIA that would apply to them into the governor.

They're wondering, could we put it, could we put it perhaps in the constitution that, that lawmakers and the governor are, are subject to FOIA.

There are those, um, those kinds of, uh, issues there, there.

For every person you talk to, there's a new idea of what could be done.

I've – I've tried to approach it from someone just curious about the question, like someone just wants to know.

And so I've, you know, all of the information, the data that I'm gathering is from official Information Act requests or Freedom of Information Act requests, and then what's produced publicly.

And that specific data about the pass-fail rates of women versus men has been by far the hardest information for me to come by.

And I think that is because that directly ties into the legislative requirements.

Um, and I got, I applied for the contract and they sent me a redacted to hell.

Um, so I've now got another Freedom of Information Act in, uh, asking for the unredacted version.

Whether I'll get it or not, I don't know.

It's interesting though that, like you say as well, you started this in March, right? And, and you, like you say, you, you- You, I mean, you've got a following pretty quickly, so you must be doing something right.

But as a counselor, I would also be subject to the law.

So it's not so much advice, but I'll be subject to the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and that will put the guardrails on being transparent, but then also respecting confidentiality.

The City of Hamilton had the Mayor's Task Force on Transparency, Access, and Accountability, which made 27 recommendations.

The task force ran a non-scientific survey of Hamiltonians, and over 80% of respondents stated they do not trust City Hall.

many, many challenges.

Top of the agenda for her is the Freedom of Information Act.

Attorney General Wayne Monroe recently said the government intends to move forward with the Freedom of Information Act, a commitment that successive administrations have made but have yet to fully deliver on.

Newton, who also holds a degree in journalism, says she plans to pick up where her predecessor, Justice Keith Thompson, left off.

The government has recognized that there is a public right to access information for information that is held by public authorities.

And hence, the passage of the Freedom of Information Act 2017.

However, the act doesn't work alone.

The act requires the regulation to support it.

Well, it is the last unprotected institution.

I mean, they have the exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act, which they use very, very liberally.

Um, you know, the, all the problems of, you know, royal wills being sealed, no proper royal register, which was being debated twenty years ago and never got through.

Uh, I mean, the key is parliamentary accountability.

It's down to Parliament to change legislation.

I'm talking to the Greens at the moment about removing the exemptions the Royal Family have in the Freedom of Information Act.

When the Act was brought in 25 years ago, there was never meant to be an exemption for members of the royal family.

I mean, they would have the normal exemptions of any citizen and basically get out of jail free.

She remains on bail, subject to conditions including the surrender of her passport as well as a local surety.

The ombudsman has ruled that records related to the appointment of the Chief Justice may be subject to the Freedom of Information Act when they're held by a public authority.

The decision followed an appeal after the Judicial and Legal Services Commission argued that it was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act and refused a request for records connected to the appointment process.

The applicant, Bilika Samamba, explains to Radio Cayman the motivation behind the application.

I believe that it is important for the Commission to make it clear whether Caymanians applied for this job and whether they were considered, and also because I believe there was a recommendation that the job should be re-advertised.

But with the freedom of information, I'm sure those who request for it will be able to have a look at it.

Okay, but why do we need the Freedom of Information Act? We have to write.

Is there reluctance by both parties to be transparent about this agreement, looking at the public nature of the whole episode and the fact that it's a public institution? If we have to go all the way to going to court or having to request or rely on the law, then it might suggest a reluctance to be transparent about this.

Well, there's an official secret act.