Re: “Kids lose as gov’t fights to keep secrets,” Townsman/Bulletin, May 13, 2010.

A suggestion by Paul Willcocks that proposed legislation will allow government to “keep secrets from the Representative for Children and Youth” is a notion that is simply wrong.

Government recognizes that there are occasions when an independent officer — such as the Auditor General, as an example — requires access to cabinet information. In these cases, an agreement is made to share information on the basis of confidentiality. This is common practice in B.C. and across Canada, and in the case of independent children’s officers in other provinces, as we understand they all operate under a similar arrangement.

The legislative change in no way limits the Representative’s access to cabinet documents. It certainly does not compromise her ability to prepare or produce reports — or her independence. The legislative change simply confirms that she is provided access to cabinet information on the same terms as other independent officers.

There may be a perception that the Representative relies on cabinet documents as a part of regular practice but I am not aware of any cabinet documents that have contributed to published reports produced by her office. More importantly, the Representative’s reports do rely heavily on information from the ministry of children and family development and agencies such as the coroner’s service — and the representative retains sweeping access to this information along with the ability to release such information at her discretion.

Mary Polak

Minister, Children and Family Development