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What Events Are
Planned for Right To Know Week In BC?
During Right to Know
Week, various events will take place. The key event is the
one-day BC Information Summit to be held in Vancouver on
Friday
October 5, 2007. Please click on the logo below to find out what
the summit
is all about and to register for this popular event.
Right to Know
Day
“Right to
Know Day” is a yearly global event, held to highlight the importance
of
access to information in fostering healthy, transparent and
accountable
governments. It is celebrated around the world every September 28. It had its
start
on
September 28, 2002 in Sofia Bulgaria, at an international meeting of
access advocates who proposed that the date be dedicated to the
promotion of access to government information. Right to Know day is
celebrated in more than 60 countries including the Czech Republic,
El Salvador, India, Jamaica, Latvia, Mexico, Sierra Leone, Peru,
Spain, Turkey and the USA.
Right to Know Week
“Right to Know Week” starts on Friday September 28, 2007 and runs
until
October 5, 2007. During the week, events are held to focus public
attention on
the vital role access to information plays in promoting open
government.
Why is the Right to Know So Important?
In British Columbia, the public’s right to know is supported by the
BC Freedom
of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The right of
access gives the public
the ability to request records relating to the decisions,
operations, administration
and performance of government. The underlying premise is that
citizens are
best equipped to hold government accountable, and better able to
participate in
the democratic process, when they have timely access to relevant
information.
In his book
Democracy and Illusion, John Plamenatz explains:
“Access laws
operate on the premise that politically relevant information should
be distributed as widely as reasonably possible. The same
information that is
available to politicians and civil servants is also available to the
ordinary citizens.
In an open and accountable society, no politician or bureaucrat
should possess
more than a small part of the information that is available to the
community
if government is to be effective and responsible and the same is
true of the
ordinary citizen.”
Access legislation
is one of several mechanisms by which governments are
held accountable. Some of the others include fair elections,
freedom of the
press, freedom of speech and assembly, independent audit and
oversight,
and question period. Without access to information however, none of
these
other accountability mechanisms have any viability—they will all
wither without
the oxygen of information.
“A Ten Step Program to Prevent Privacy
Headaches”
Wayne Zimmerman, Portfolio Officer, Office of
the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
A privacy breach can affect your bottom line and damage the
reputation of your business. Learn from the experts how your
organization can avoid a privacy headache by following ten easy
steps.
WHEN: Wednesday, October 3,
2007--5:30 P.M.
WHERE: Highland Pacific Golf, 450 Creed Road,
Victoria, British Columbia
Open to the public and free admission.
(see map
http://www.highlandpacificgolf.com/Map.htm)
For further information contact the West Shore Chamber of Commerce,
478-1130.
_______________________________________________________________________
“Access, Privacy and Democratic
Government: Finding the Balance”
Darrell Woods, Portfolio Office, Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner
In these uncertain times, the public’s right to scrutinize the
actions and governments is more important than ever. How does the
BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
enhance open government? How does it minimize the intrusion of the
state in our daily lives?
WHEN: Thursday, September
27, 2007—7 P.M.
WHERE: Room 155/4—120th Avenue
Northern Lights College, Fort St. John Campus
Fort St. John, British Columbia
Open to the public and free admission.
For further information contact Brad Lyon Phone: (250) 784-7589,
1-866-463-6652 ext. 7589, email: blyon@nlc.bc.ca
_______________________________________________________________________
“Tips on How to Access Government
Records”
Justin Hodkinson, Portfolio Officer, Office of
the Information and Privacy Commissioner
Do you know you have a legal right to
request records in the custody of public bodies? That includes
ministries, crown corporations, self-governing professions,
municipalities, health authorities, municipal police forces,
schools, colleges, and universities? Learn from the experts how to
request government information, what the government must do in
response to your request and you can do if you request is denied.
WHEN: September 28, 2007—6
P.M.
WHERE: Tofino Public Library
331 Main Street, Tofino, British Columbia
Open to the public and free admission.
For further information contact Justin
Hodkinson at 250-387-5629 or through Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867
______________________________________________________________________
“The Bourne Supremacy: Myth or Reality?
The Importance of Access to Information and Protection of Privacy”
Cory Martinson, Portfolio Officer, Office of
the Information and Privacy Commissioner
WHEN: Thursday, October 4,
2007-8:30 A.M.
WHERE: Special presentation to the Timberline
Secondary School
Campbell River, British Columbia
______________________________________________________________________
Test Your Right To Know IQ---Enter for a
chance to Win an iPOD!!!
Are you an RTK graduate? Or an RTK pre-schooler?
Take our on-line test to explore your access and privacy knowledge!
The OIPC has put together a fifteen-question quiz that will test
your expertise and give you a report card. Please note that your
answers will not be stored by the OIPC, and once your score has been
provided your questions and the score are automatically deleted. If
you participate, only your email address will be collected and put
in for a draw for an Apple iPOD Shuffle. This gizmo holds up to 240
songs, is small enough to fit on your sleeve and has up to 12 hours
of battery life.
The contest runs from September 26, 2007 to October 6, 2007.
For further information contact:
Pat Egan, Darrel Woods, Caitlin Lemiski or
Catherine Tully
250-387-5629 or through Enquiry BC at 1-800-663-7867
______________________________________________________________________
“Building Your Story: Everything a
Budding Journalist Needs to Know About Access to Information
Legislation”
Ian Stewart, Portfolio Officer, Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner
WHEN: Monday, October 1,
2007
WHERE: Special presentation to the Journalism
students,
G.P. Vanier Secondary School
Courtenay, British Columbia
______________________________________________________________________
“Whose Information is it, Anyway? Your
Right to Know Who Collects, Uses and Discloses Your Personal
Information (And What You Can Do About It!)”
Mary Carlson, Executive Director, Office of the
Information and Privacy Commissioner
Richard Rosenberg, President, BC Freedom of
Information and Privacy Association
Under BC's freedom of information and privacy laws, both government
and private-sector organizations have a duty to be accountable for
and transparent about the way they collect, use and disclose our
personal information.
In order to receive services from both the public and private sector
organizations, we exchange personal information for the service or
product. You have the legal right to request access to whatever
information has been collected, and the legal right to expect that
that information will be fully protected from unauthorized uses.
Learn from the experts how to access your personal information, what
to do if your personal information is inaccurate, under what
circumstances you may be denied access to your own personal
information and what you can do if you believe your privacy has been
breached.
WHEN: THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4,
2007 7-9:30 P.M.
WHERE: YWCA Hotel, 733 Beatty Street, Vancouver
Canfor and
Royal Bank rooms
Open to the public—free admission.
For further information contact:
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Association
604-739-9788
______________________________________________________________________
Create Awareness--Download our
FREE Right to Know Poster!
Click
HERE to download our
free Right to Know Poster, and spread the word! A healthy,
transparent and accountable government is directly related to the
citizen’s right to access records in a timely and open manner.
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