The public pays for self-serving and promotional government activity behind closed doors

Once ferreted out, and very late, government access-to-information releases are rarely not self-serving. Many a bureaucrat can tell you dozens of stories about such plans, efforts, and deceits.

Pedestrians cross Elgin and Sparks streets on Aug. 9, 2023. Taxpayers are on the hook for attempts by bureaucrats to massage their public images or keep embarrassing government data from seeing the light of day, writes Ken Rubin. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Opinion

BY KEN RUBIN

September 20, 2023

OTTAWA—Every few years, government replies to access requests I’ve filed come back with memorable self-promotion imaging schemes or stories of bureaucratic rationalizations and positioning that attempt to put officials in a positive light.

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