Murky access-to-information responses aren’t fit for a king

The expectation of getting useful data in the access-to-information space can be low, but sometimes interesting details surface while other data either remains hidden, or raises unsettling questions. Below are two examples of this currently in the news. Coinage for King Charles Whether or not you want King Charles III as Canada’s monarch either at all or at least on your money, he soon will be on Canada’s everyday coins, as announced by the federal government this past May. Access-to-information documents released by the Royal Canadian Mint reveal a few twists. Most interesting is that Buckingham Palace gets to approve and own the King’s images on Canadian currency. Charles’ acceptance comes before proceeding with final Government of Canada approval. As the Mint records note, “A royal effigy is the intellectual property of the monarch and must always be reviewed and approved by Buckingham Palace.” The King is to be portrayed only from his neck up, no shoulders, no crown or ceremonial robes, and his effigy on coins has him looking straight left. Queen Elizabeth II, the documents indicate, was only to be portrayed looking right. This follows a tradition of reversing portrayals with every new monarch. Yet as noted in the Mint documents, “Edward VIII, who was king for less than one year in 1936, faced to the left because that is what he preferred, even though the monarch before him, George V, also looked left. The tradition was resumed with George VI, who faced left. He served until he died in 1952.” Coins bearing Elizabeth’s resemblance may be in circulation as legal tender for up to another 20 years. Special coins commemorating her 1952-2022 reign will be introduced, too. Bidding on the design of Charles’ portrayal on coins are limited to qualified, still-employed Mint engravers, and about 350 Canadian citizen artists residing in Canada who are in the Mint’s database and who have already done work portraying the royals in the past. Artwork must be original, and not copy other design work. The Mint invitation asks for “one GREAT design, rather than multiple mediocre designs.” The Mint’s internal design competition panel will judge the aesthetics, technical viability, and mass-production suitability of entries without seeing the artists' names. Mint spokesperson Alex Reeves indicated that nearly 100 artists and engravers took part in the competition and 20 of those participants were shortlisted. Reeves indicated that the governor-in council approved the winning design, to be announced Nov. 14, without changes. The first of the new coins would be released in December. Compensation to be given to the winning artist are considered confidential. There is acknowledgement that there will be some extra costs to develop new production tools and to modify the dyeing equipment used but those costs were not provided. Order of Canada selection process With the new coinage for Charles underway, another change the government unveiled in May is a new design for the Canadian crown, a symbol that sits atop the country's coat of arms. Symbols such as a cross at the top and a circlet of gold crosses and fleur-de-lis are being replaced with a likeness of an Order of Canada medal on top, and a ring and gold maple leaves. But a Mint access-to-information request reply indicated that the Mint will not reveal what it costs—even aggregated—since 1967 to produce Order in Canada medals that have now gone to more than 8,000 people for their endeavours. There are no published criteria that define how the committee that picks the people to whom Governor General Mary Simon honours with the Order of Canada ultimately ranks or votes on their selections. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade However, when it comes to how people are selected for the honour, Privy Council access-to-information records say more about candidate selection than what is found on the Governor General’s public website. For one, records indicate the Governor General’s 10-person advisory committee—which includes the Clerk of the Privy Council—removes nominees if they are "reputational risks," “controversial," or “marginal.” Those terms are not defined, but the records show in recent years at least several dozen or more people nominated every year are thus weeded out in this risk-adverse process.It could be that some candidates nominated are seen as too risky, given their life’s work involves advocacy critical of Canadian government practices, or that proposed candidates are known to have made sexist or racist comments in the past. The records do indicate those candidates rejected as "non-supportive," or "competitive but reputational risk” mostly come from the "arts and media category," and that, at times, “non-competitive” rejected candidates “have generated negative comments" from the selection committee. As well, the records show that PCO officials—and maybe other federal officials—are the first to get a look at the nominee list of nominees, especially nominees in the political, public service, and justice fields. There are no published criteria for ranking candidates or any statistics provided on scoring or voting on candidates. The Order of Canada process has been called too secretive, elitist, and lacking in diversity. Recently, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a high-profile former judge whose claim to Indigenous identity has been discredited, was dropped as an Order of Canada recipient at her request. As for King Charles, whose effigy will soon be on all Canadian coinage, he has acknowledged Canada's dark past in handling the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous people, but has not offered an apology. Probing for records on the processes used for such high-ranking official endeavours can yield bits of information that, in turn, raise more questions. Ken Rubin writes on transparency matters. He is reachable via kenrubin.ca. The Hill Times

Murky access-to-information responses aren’t fit for a king

Probing for records on the processes used for some high-ranking official endeavours can yield bits of data that, in turn, raise more questions.

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Murky access-to-information responses aren’t fit for a king

Probing for records on the processes used for some high-ranking official endeavours can yield bits of data that, in turn, raise more questions.

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