Excuses, excuses

Randy Simms makes an interesting observation today in his column for the Quebec Daily Newspaper (sadly not online). Writing about the affair involving College of Whatever It's Called This Year, he notes:

Education Minister Darin King is in charge of this file. Under heavy questioning in the House of Assembly, he advised the Opposition that the confidentially clause will not be lifted.

Then he said something that deserves further scrutiny.

King told the House that a lot of government employees sign contracts with confidentially clauses and he's not about to change that procedure. He seemed to suggest that such clauses are a good thing.

Minister Dr. Darin Luther King's comments came in the House on the 5th:

MR. KING: Mr. Speaker, let me remind the member opposite and members of this House why exactly employees who have senior positions in government and in the private sector, why exactly there is a confidentiality clause in contracts, Mr. Speaker. It is because of the kinds of information that individuals deal with. It is the kinds of personal and private information, Mr. Speaker, that individuals deal with.

In the college system, for example, that employee will be dealing with sensitive information around student information, family information, challenges and issues that come before them on a daily basis. They would be charged, Mr. Speaker, with securing all of this information in the performance of their duty for the organization. They come about the information because they are under the employ of the organization. That is why the confidentiality clause is there, Mr. Speaker.

I say to the member opposite, he had no trouble in 2003, Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Justice of the day had contracts with confidentiality clauses in them for their senior officials.

Now, you see, the thing is, "student information, family information, challenges and issues that come before them on a daily basis" are already given legal protection under Part IV of the Access to Information and Protection of Personal Privacy Act.

It's the same piece of legislation which, when contorted into the Kafkaesque Klein bottle that it's become under the Danny Williams-Régime, supposedly prevents the Access to Information release of the unexpurgated texts of the Premier's publicly-delivered, and even broadcast speeches, because He may have dropped a personal name in it, like the President of the local Bored of Trade who invited Him to speak and introduced him, or John F. Kennedy.

So, whatever the reason for such confidentiality clauses, protecting "student information, family information, challenges and issues that come before them on a daily basis" aren't it.

And a blanket confidentiality clause — one that applies to everything and lasts forever — even in the absence of any statutory protection of privacy, is an overbroad contractual sledgehammer on an important, but narrowly scoped, legal cockroach. Protection of the personal privacy of a third party who had an official interaction with your institution is no excuse for covering up something to do with public administration and the public interest.

Not a legitimate excuse, anyway.... but the régime has long since disposed of even the pretence of having legitimate excuses for its increasingly inexcusable behaviour.

So what is the real reason for confidentiality clauses, infinitely broad confidentiality clauses, infinitely enduring confidentiality clauses, and an expanding use of confidentiality clauses?

Why, it's to prevent Our 2007 election pledge concerning whistleblower protection legislation from ever seeing the light of day... at least not as long as He is Premier, anyway.

That's what.

Which is why the introduction of such legislation, if it ever happens, will be as sure a sign as the purchase of a condo in Sarasota that He is on His way out.