Last December, two journalists in Myanmar, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were invited to dinner by police officers to discuss their research into war crimes carried out by the military. The officers handed them some documents, then immediately arrested them under the country’s Official Secrets Act for possessing the classified material. As absurd as […]
Right to Know
Posted inNews + Opinion
Right to Know Week, Day 3: Secret government meetings
Some of the criticism levelled at city council’s secret meetings misses the mark. I’m talking about the “council met 28 times in secret last year” type of criticism—the number of secret meetings really doesn’t shed much light on whether they meetings were legitimately secret. Council can legitimately meet in secret for issues involving real estate, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Mayor Peter Kelly declares next week “Right to Know Week”
I don’t know if I should laugh or cry: That’s right: because “Halifax Regional Municipality is dedicated to the principle of open and transparent government and is accountable to the citizens it serves,” mayor Peter Kelly has proclaimed next week “Right to Know Week.” That of course is the very same mayor Peter Kelly who […]