In the process of conducting public business, it is sometimes necessary to withhold certain sensitive information from the public, but it should be done very sparingly and for the right reasons.
The secrecy surrounding Esquimalt's bid to be policed by the RCMP smells of all the wrong reasons.
Esquimalt's municipal council has finally agreed to release proposals from the Victoria Police Department and the RCMP. While it's a move in the right direction, the council is still not being completely open about its bid to end the township's shared policing arrangement with VicPD and contract with the RCMP.
The township and VicPD have had an uneasy relationship since 2003 when the two police forces were merged in what critics called a shotgun wedding. Last year, the Esquimalt council asked for proposals from VicPD and the RCMP.
In an in-camera session, the council unanimously endorsed the RCMP proposal but declined to make that public before the November municipal election. Voters went into the election blind concerning an issue that should have been front and centre during the campaign. Did council members believe that information would have harmed re-election chances? In the absence of information to the contrary, you can't fault anyone for drawing that conclusion.
In June, Justice Minister Shirley Bond, who has the final say, rejected Esquimalt's bid to be policed by the RCMP and ordered the two municipalities to work out their differences.
So it's all over but the shouting, and that shouting is now mostly about the secrecy surrounding the proposals and the Esquimalt council's reasons for choosing the RCMP proposal. While Esquimalt has agreed to release some information, it has come to it grudgingly - the RCMP and VicPD said weeks ago that the township could release the proposals to the public.
The Times Colonist and Const. David Bratzer of VicPD have filed freedom-of-information requests concerning the proposals with B.C.'s privacy commissioner, and those requests are being reviewed. That shouldn't be necessary.
Esquimalt has also not released a report from its police and law enforcement advisory board that outlined why it favoured the RCMP over VicPD.
Policing necessarily involves certain sensitive information that should be kept confidential, but we cannot see that sort of information playing a significant role in this issue. This is about administrative matters, not about the nitty-gritty of investigations, undercover operations and the work police are doing on the streets.
On the other hand, nothing shouts "something to hide" like too much secrecy. It breeds paranoia, gossip and public mistrust. Regardless of the merits of the policing proposals, the Esquimalt council undoubtedly has legitimate reasons for choosing one over the other. We do not imply anything nefarious on the part of the council, but it should be forthcoming with its reasons and reasoning. Council members who feel betrayed by Bond's decision in favour of the current arrangement should put the information out there and let the public decide who was right.
The policing issue has been settled for now, but the apparent reluctance of the Esquimalt council to be transparent in its deliberations continues to be troubling. It's a situation that has the potential to fester and grow and cause further problems.
Openness in government is not always comfortable for elected officials. A council chair can be an uneasy perch, and determining what is best for the public good is not always a crystal-clear process. Keeping information under wraps might seem the easier path in the short term, but could very well turn out to be the most difficult road in the long term.
