B.C. law to ban information on farm outbreaks

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.theprovince.com/opinion/information+farm+outbreaks/6657194/story.html

B.C. law to ban information on farm outbreaks
Overrides Freedom of Information law, carries stiff penalty
By Ethan Baron, The Province May 22, 2012 10:39 AM

B.C.'s Liberal government is poised to further choke off the flow of public information, this time with respect to disease outbreaks. The Animal Health Act, expected to be passed into law by month's end, expressly over-rides B.C.'s Freedom of Information Act, duct-taping shut the mouths of any citizens - or journalists - who would publicly identify the location of an outbreak of agriculture-related disease such as the deadly bird flu...

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: B.C. law to ban information on farm outbreaks

See also; British Columbia: Proposed Changes to Animal Health Act to Keep Farm Disease Outbreaks Secret
http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=186894

 

[Shiloh]

Re: B.C. law to ban information on farm outbreaks

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/technol...+outbreaks+critics+suggest/6683932/story.html

Animal health act would stifle talk of disease outbreaks, critics suggest
Minister insists confidentiality provision applies only to government officials
By Jonathan Fowlie, Vancouver Sun May 26, 2012 4:03 AM


Critics are raising alarm bells over a piece of provincial legislation they say appears to shut down the ability for any person to discuss a possible outbreak of an animal-related disease.

The Animal Health Act stipulates that a person "must refuse, despite the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, to disclose ... information that would reveal that a notifiable or reportable disease is or may be present in a specific place."

The province's Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, as well as New Democratic Party agriculture critic Lana Popham, have both raised concerns about the bill, which is expected to be passed by the end of next week.

"If everybody is included in that, it takes secrecy to the next level and it doesn't allow people to talk about health concerns. For me that's a problem," Popham said in an interview Friday...