One of the skills  acquired in fighting  wind turbines is how to obtain and extract information held by the Ontario government using Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.  Information that should be freely accessible without obstruction but is not.  Knowledge is power and who controls the data controls the known story.

Details of wind projects, bird and bat kills by wind turbines, negative impacts to environment, and  even how many people have filed complaints about adverse health effects are within the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change’s jurisdiction. Information and data held, protected and only released reluctantly in bits and pieces with persistent repeated requests. The process is convoluted, bureaucratic and most importantly time consuming.   The time involved enables strict time lines applied in appeal hearings at the Environmental Tribunal Review.  The government has an expected service response time of 30 days and if not met the delay must be given with a justified explanation.  That is not what has happened.

“…auditors concluded dates “were systematically adjusted by staff” in the FOI office to show completion of requests within the 30-day requirement period.”

A recent audit shows the MOECC failed in its duties and has been changing the dates of FOI requests. The government has lied by falsifying the dates. MOECC has now been caught begging the question what else has also been falsified?

Ontario environment ministry deliberately falsified dates on FOI requests: https://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/12/19/ontario-environment-ministry-deliberately-falsified-dates-on-foi-requests.html

Commissioner Beamer’s Response December, 19, 2016