Our journalists share their horror stories with access to information, to obtain information that should be public and that you have a right to know.
A few years ago, the Commission on Health and Safety at Work (CSST) became the Commission on Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST).
We wanted to know how much this name change cost. It’s still big. Posters, emails, letterheads, paperwork, signage, etc.
The response we received from the organization’s media relations: $64,505.
This didn’t seem like much to us. We therefore went through the law by making a formal request for access to information.
- Listen to the interview with Jean Louis Fortin, director of the Quebecor Investigation Bureau on the microphone by Alexandre Dubé via
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After a month of waiting, we were informed that we were not going to get a response.
We were told that the entire budget was included in current expenses and that the public did not have to know about it.
This was the first time I saw a response like this. As if an organization did not have to justify the costs of an expenditure provided that it respects its overall annual budget.