The provincial government appears to be stalling when it comes to providing documents and information about Carpere Canada’s involvement with the Valley View Centre property.
The Moose Jaw Express submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Ministry of Central Services on June 15 asking for information about anything or anyone related to Carpere Canada from January 2018 to May 2020.
The newspaper was curious about what other activities the Vancouver-based business is involved in in Saskatchewan, especially after the company abandoned its deal in the Southeast Industrial Park and pursued the Valley View Centre (VVC) complex property. The Express recently learned the business was the successful bidder for the property and is likely to take ownership after July 31.
In response to the FOI request, a spokeswoman with the Ministry of Central Services sent an email saying the request did not provide enough details for the ministry to identify the desired records. More information was required for ministry officials to search for the proper records.
The Express submitted a new FOI request on June 17 requesting access to similar information about Carpere, but narrowed the search to emails, communications, or correspondence, and for information about the VVC property bid tender, from January 2018 to May 2020.
On July 8, the spokeswoman responded, saying the documentation requested could contain third-party information subject to section 19(1) of The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. This meant the ministry had to inform Carpere about the request under section 34 of the act. The company then had 20 days — to July 28 — to provide the office with presentations about whether the records contained exempted information and whether the province should deny access.
Once the ministry received Carpere’s presentation, it would then decide whether to release the information.
The spokeswoman sent another email on July 16, saying the ministry needed to extend the deadline by 30 days to allow Carpere Canada to make representations and for the office to notify both parties of its decision. This decision to extend the deadline — to Aug. 8 at the latest — was based on section 12(1).
The ministry official added that the newspaper — if it disagreed with the extension — could contact the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner to review the decision.
The Express contacted the spokeswoman on July 16 to request clarity about the deadline of when Carpere had to respond and when the ministry had to provide a final reply.
She explained that the ministry based the first 30-day extension on the June 15 FOI submission and had until July 15 to respond. It then tacked on an additional 20 days to allow Carpere to submit its presentations, thus pushing the deadline to July 28. The ministry then had 10 days to decide whether to release the information.
Analysis
It seems that governments at the municipal and provincial levels can hide behind the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act when they are asked for information or want to keep issues quiet.
How can the residents of Moose Jaw know what’s happening with the Valley View Centre property when the province uses stall tactics about what information to release? How can the Thorn and Avery families resolve access issues to their properties when we don’t know if Carpere will let them cross the VVC property to do so? How much did Carpere pay for the property? What does the company plan to do with the land? How long has Carpere been communicating with the ministry?
It would also be interesting to learn what other projects Carpere is pursuing in Saskatchewan and what the contents are of its conversations with the province. The Moose Jaw Express will continue to dig for those answers.
