Go fish!

The whole St.-John's-hospital-reports-gate, as could be expected, immediately raised suspicions among the Suspicious as to what other reports might be lurking, gathering dust somewhere, having been File-13ed until after the fixed election, or until forever, whichever came first.

The Suspicious, one imagines, have been busy launching ATIP assault after ATIP assault. This is what is sometimes known as a "fishing expedition."

It is also probably what has led to the new spirit of glasnost — that's late Soviet-era Russian for "openness" — reported today by Rob Antle in the Telegram:

The Williams administration says its promised policy of making all government-commissioned reports public within 30 days of their completion remains in effect, despite some recent exceptions.

Officials in the premier's office said the government is now reviewing its files to see what other unreleased reports may be gathering dust.

"There are instances when that deadline simply cannot be met due to a variety of issues," Elizabeth Matthews, a spokeswoman for Premier Danny Williams, said Monday.

That's interesting. The original PC "30 day guarantee" didn't give itself any such escape clause. Maybe it was in the fine print.

Antle's report continues:

As for the 30-day release policy, Williams said, "It is our policy of disclosing reports at the earliest available opportunity."

In the newly-new spirit of openness and accountability, now that the fixed election is safely behind Williams Government, and any political fallout from embarrassing government documents will be for Williams Government's successor to deal with, perhaps Williams Government can release one government document in particular.

It can release the directive, or order, or ruling, or policy, or Treasury Board guideline, or Cabinet decision, or whatever other instrument was used to lay down the "30 day" policy and give effect to the election promise in the first place.

Because, y'know, in order for something to "remain in effect", it has to have been put into effect in the first place, correct?

And, if it's a cabinet document of some kind, cabinet confidentiality shouldn't prevent the release of that instrument, if it exists. The same 2003 PC platform document which promised that:

A Progressive Conservative government will ... release to the public every government-commissioned report within 30 days of receiving it, indicate the action government will take on a report's recommendations within 60 days, and ensure prompt public access to all government reports in hard copy and on the Internet.

also promised that the same PC government would

Proclaim new Freedom of Information legislation which will include amendments that will clearly identify information that should be in the public domain, including cabinet documents, and will require full and prompt disclosure of the information to the public.

Williams Government is eager to pre-empt a fishing expedition.

W.G. will only be able to do that if it lays all its fish on the table.