Sask. government defends $180K bill for GTH land deal documents

The Saskatchewan NDP opposition says the $180,000 fee estimate sent to CBC by the Global Transportation Hub and the Ministry of Highways for documents related to the GTH land deal is an attempt to conceal information from the public.

It's just bizarre that government thinks that they can get away with hiding this sort of information from Saskatchewan people.- Trent Wotherspoon, Interim Leader of Saskatchewan NDP

"This is nothing more than an outrageous coverup of their scandal," said the NDP's interim leader Trent Wotherspoon. "It's just bizarre that government thinks that they can get away with hiding this sort of information from Saskatchewan people." 

However, in an email from the premier's office, an official explained the government's information systems are vast and CBC's requests were "excessive."

"This is not a simple request," the email said.

$180K for GTH land deal documents

In March, CBC submitted a series of access requests for emails, contracts and appraisals related to the GTH's controversial purchase of 204 acres of land back in 2014.

In some cases CBC asked for specific documents like an appraisal or a contract. In other cases the iTeam asked for correspondence with specific people over a period of a few days. And in some cases the requests were more broad, asking for documents related to a specific parcel of land over a period of years.

The GTH said CBC's 15 requests would result in 9,000 pages which would cost $111,842.50 to prepare.

The Ministry of Highways estimated that there were just 500 pages responsive to CBC's 14 requests. Its estimate was $69,645.

The official from the premier's office explained that the "the volume of data and information requested was excessive," and would have meant searching many computer accounts over a period of several years.

'You usually don't see governments as intransigent as that:' expert

Sean Holman, a former investigative journalist who's now a journalism professor at Mount Royal University, says from his review of the correspondence between CBC and government officials "you usually don't see governments as intransigent as that when it comes to negotiations on fees." 

Holman said typically governments negotiate with journalists or private citizens in order to help reduce fees.

"It's customary in most jurisdictions across Canada for there to be a conversation, to be a negotiation, between the government and the requestor to try to find the best way of meeting the requirements of the request."

After receiving the large fee request, CBC asked the GTH and the Ministry of Highways to assist in reducing fees by providing estimates for each individual request, which is common practise.

The president and CEO of the GTH, Bryan Richards, acknowledged that some of the requests were smaller and could be easily provided.

However, in the end, he defended the fee estimate and suggested that if CBC disagreed "there are appeal mechanisms available to you," meaning the Information and Privacy Commissioner. The written response from the Ministry of Highways was almost identical.

Holman said after reading the original requests and the written responses, "It appears in this particular case the government wasn't willing to engage in that process."

GTH changes its mind

CBC did complain to Saskatchewan's Information and Privacy Commissioner about the large fee estimates and the unwillingness of the government agencies to break up their requests in an effort to narrow them.

It appears the GTH has now concluded it is possible, after all, to split up some of CBC's requests.

Late this week, in a letter to CBC, it explained that it will be providing separate estimates for two of CBC's requests; something it refused to do before the complaint to the commissioner's office.

Holman argued these are documents that taxpayers have ultimately paid for and have a right to see. And he said governments should be actively working to make sure transparency is the rule.

"This should be a matter of the government working with the public to provide information so that the public can better understand the decisions that they've been making," Holman explained.

"And if there was no problem with those decisions then the government really shouldn't have a problem with this."