Today I received another letter in reply to my request for Jennifer Lynch’s list of critics’ names. I’m too lazy to scan it and upload it, so I’ll just type out the text of the letter:
Dear Mr. Morrow:
This is further to your request under the Access to Information Act for the following:
“Jennifer Lynch’s list of approximately several hundred, 1200 names, of critics, both in the blogs and the mainstream media, of the CHRC’s activities. The names on this list refer, apparently, to those who have engaged in “misinformation, gross distortions” and “caricaturizations”. This list was referred to by Jennifer Lynch is an article by Joseph Brean in the National Post, Monday, June 22nd, entitled “Canadians Misinformed” on hate speech”.
Pursuant to paragraph 9(1)(b) of the Act, an extension of 60 days is required beyond the statutory 30-day limit allowed for the processing of request because consultations are necessary to comply with the request which cannot reasonably be completed within the original time limit. I have enclosed for your information a copy of section 9.
Please be advisedthat you are entitled to complain to the Information Commissioner concerning the processing of your request within sixty days of the receipt of this notice. In the event you decide to avail yourself of this right, your notice of complaint should be addressed to Information Commissioner at Place de Ville, Tower B, 12 Kent Street, 22nd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 1H3
Should you have any questions regarding this notice, please contact me at 1 (888) 214-1090 or ( 613) 943-8950. It would be appreciated if you would quote our file number in any future correspondence.
Yours sincerely,
Ginette Bastien
Coordinator
Access to Information and Privacy
Also included was:
Access to Information Act
Section 9: Extension of Time Limits:
9. (1) The head of a government institution may extend the time limit set out in section 7 or subsection 8(1) in respect of a request under this Act for a reasonable period of time, having regard to the circumstances, if
(a) the request is for a large number of records or necessitates a search through a large number of records and meeting the original time limit would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the government institution,
(b) consultations are necessary to comply with the request that cannot reasonably be completed within the original time limit, or
(c) notice of the request is given pursuant to subsection 27(1)
by giving notice of the extension and, in the circumstances set out in paragraph (a) or (b), the length of the extension, the the person who made the request within thirty days after the request is received, which notice shall contain a statement that the person has a right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner about the extension.
So, there you have it. And now, we wait.
walker morrow
theodensdaughter
Binky
Scary Fundamentalist
Don Sharpe
missmarprelate
So ‘consultations’ are necessary. With whom is her Highness consulting? And since you are merely asking for matters of fact; what is there to consult about? Could it be she senses a trap in providing you with names of people who she feels are guilty of ‘misinformation, gross distortions and characterizations?’ Has she set it for herself? We await further news from the Fortress of Thought Control.
Well, I wonder if, when the time comes when they legally have to give a response to my request, they’ll simply extend the deadline again, in the hopes that they’ll be able to stall for as long as they need to.
Either way, I find it a bit amusing that Ginette Bastien is probably having to go down to Jennifer Lynch’s office and ask her where that list of names is.
Walker, I am thinking of the pages that Marc Lemire got on his requests, particularly around the Nellie Hechme internet theft stuff. There were even pages that had one or two lines of text and the rest was blanked out.
I picture you getting about 24 pages (1,200 names at 50 per page) of mostly blacked out nothing, because most of the folks not yet officially declared guilty of thought crimes, are actually threats to national security, and therefor releasing their names would let you and, since you cannot be trusted with such data, them know that they are threats to national security.
Can you imagine the threat to national security it would be if Ezra Levant knew that he were such a threat? He might do something dangerous like write a book or go on a speaking/book tour, or he might even procreate. Who knows what could happen then? Oops, too late.
As you say, the quest continues.
I think you may be right, and I’ll probably just get a whole bunch of pages covered in marker. If that happens, of course, then I can make a big deal about it anyway – I’ll win either way, I suppose. Although I really would like to see who’s on that list.
I think Ezra would get a kick out of being a threat to national security.