Nearly a year after they announced widespread cuts to their national operating budget, the CBC is doing what it can to tell stories with fewer resources. While this approach may help keep expenses down, it has left the residents of Wabush, Newfoundland feeling alienated.

Nestled in North-West Newfoundland, Wabush is a mining town which exports iron ore to countries with expanding industrial sectors. While it once thrived, Wabush is currently struggling to survive due to the shaky prices of iron in international markets. Countries like China who were once willing to pay top dollar for the resource now pay only half the price. Business has slowed down as a result.

Prior to the cuts CBC had one reporter and vidoegrapher covering Wabush stories as a part of its larger Labrador West region. Last year, that reporter retired, and the videographer was relocated to a different location.

With the reporters gone, Wabush’s mayor Colin Vardy was afraid that his town would lose its only national platform. A letter obtained through an Access to information request reveals that Vardy personally appealed to CBC president Hubert Lacroix, requesting that the broadcaster hold off on making any changes to the CBC’s coverage of Wabush and the Labrador West region.

The positions in West Labrador still have not been replaced. This concerns Vardy, who says that the stories in his town aren’t getting enough attention.

“People are losing their jobs, homes are being foreclosed on. The town could be dying,” said Vardy.

Vardy feels that more should be done, and the CBC has been slow to respond.

“No one responded to my letter,” He said. “CBC doesn’t have a presence in our town anymore.”

The CBC maintains that they are doing their best to report on what happens in Labrador West.

While they haven’t found replacements for the reporters in West Labrador, the company has tried to maintain coverage of the Labrador West region by sending reporters to the area from nearby locations.

For example, CBC reporter Terry Roberts produced a series of radio stories on Labrador West in the last few months. These stories, including many on Wabush, have been broadcast nationally.

“That’s something that no other broadcaster would do, have the capability to do or have any interest in frankly,” said Victoria King, CBC’s senior manager for Newfoundland and Labrador.

King said that these efforts are being made even though CBC is spending less money on reporting across the country. Last April, CBC president Hubert Lacroix announced that there would be cuts of $130 million and 657 positions in the CBC over the next two years. As a result, the CBC has been spread thin. This has led to concerns from people like Vardy.

King said that she is constantly monitoring the feedback that she gets from the rural areas of her territory to make sure that everyone is getting the best quality of service and coverage possible. In Vardy’s case King says that she is always available.

“We’re very interested in telling the stories there, and I would be interested in a dialogue with him if he has concerns,” King said.

Documents Used for this assignment

This story was based on the letters sent from Colin Vardy to Hubert Lacroix. The complete document and annotated sections can be found here.

What’s the information?

Colin Vardy requested that the CBC not reduce the number of staff who were reporting in Wabush. He asked that Lacroix give him and members of his community a chance to communicate how important the CBCs presence was in Wabush and the surrounding area.

From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?

The documents were obtained from CBC/Radio Canada.

Why was the information helpful?

The letter was a tip that the mayor in Wabush was unhappy about the reduction of CBC  presence in his area to the point that he wrote a letter to CBCs president about it. Based on his comments I began a search to see if indeed, there was a lack of coverage of issues happening in Wabush. I also called both him and the CBC for clarification and further comment. Mayor Vardy expressed his concerns, and Victoria King defended the CBCs position, saying that they are still covering the area even if there aren’t as many reporters there.

ATIPS I wasn’t able to use/didn’t receive.

For my municipal and federal requests, I intended to investigate the responses that different levels of government have made to cyber threats and cyber crime. Late last year the city of Ottawa was the victim of a denial of service attack. I made a request concerning any mention of cyber attacks or protocols that had taken place around that time or later.

Municipal ATIP 1
Municipal ATIP 2

I also made a Federal request for similar information.
Federal ATIP
==ATI Request information==
Organization: Public Safety Canada
Year: 2014
Month: October
Request Number: A-2014-00110
Request Summary: Incident records re: physical and cyber threats
to the safety and security of internet infrastructure (January 1,
2012 to July 21, 2014)
Disposition: Disclosed in part
Number of Pages: 31

I am working on a project about the increasing importance of cyber security, especially in the wake of recent terrorist activities. I would like to get as many documents I can from the governments perspective so I can understand how views have shifted in the last 3-5 years.

I made the Provincial level request for harassment claims being made by referees. I was hoping to find a story that could speak to the conversation about violence against women and gender discrimination that has taken place lately.
Provincial ATIP

All of My informal requests were made for previously requested documents regarding cyber security. I did receive a substantial number of documents from these requests, but I wasn’t able to determine if there was a story in any of them.
Informal Request 1
Informal Request 2
Informal Request 3

The B.C. government has stepped up its efforts to attract Chinese investment in multiple sectors in the province. The Minister of International Trade Teresa Wat met top executives of four major Chinese companies in two months last year, according to documents obtained through Access to Information request.

Baidu Inc., Tianjin Huabei, Tsinghua Tongfang and Poly Culture are the four companies that were invited to discuss investment opportunities in the bilateral meetings held in July and Aug. 2014.

All the four companies are market leaders in different industries in China ranging from information technology, mineral resources, art auction to film and television production and eyeing at expanding their operation in North America.

Jason Si, a senior manager at the Ministry of International Trade said the B.C. government is very keen to have diversified investment in the province and has targeted Asian companies for that.

“It’s a part of our long term economic relations development plan. Last year we had many government to government, government to business and business to business meetings and discussions to ensure that business leaders in different sectors come and invest in B.C.”.

International Trade and Intergovernmental Relations officer Kirsten Youngs said the government is encouraging diverse investment in the province as it has a number of direct and indirect benefits, including job creation, increased trade, and economic growth.

The B.C. government launched a new project titled HQ Vancouver to lure Asian companies to move their head offices to the city on Feb. 13, 2015.

The $6.5 million project is jointly funded by the B.C. government, the Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) and the federal government’s Western Economic Diversification program.

“The project is part of Minister Teresa Wat’s mandate and is focused on promoting B.C.’s advantages as Canada’s Gateway to Asia,” Youngs said.

The initiative aims to attract five international head offices to B.C. by 2020. It has also set a target of attracting an investment amounting $100 million and creating 500 new jobs in the province.

Youngs said this project will help generate industry clusters that will attract other businesses within supply chain to the area.

At present nearly 1,000 international companies have operations in B.C., including the Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China – two of the world’s 10 most-profitable banks.

“These offices generate a number of direct economic benefits, including the creation of local, well-paying jobs and increased contribution to the tax base. They also generate indirect business services, ranging from accounting and legal to advertising services and real estate leasing,” Youngs added.

Wei Liu is the director of the B.C. chapter of Canada China Business Council (CCBC), a bilateral trade organization for businesses in Canada and China. He said that for many years Chinese companies were mostly engaged in real estate business in B.C. but the trend has started to shift in recent years and more and more investors from Mainland China are buying small and medium sized enterprises these days.

He also said many Chinese companies are showing their interest in investing in IT, entertainment and energy sectors as they find many advantages like location for corporate investment, outstanding telecommunications infrastructure, clean and competitive energy, and low tax rate in B.C.

“The province’s ports are closer to Asia than anywhere else in North America and B.C. has a competitive business environment, a skilled and diverse workforce, and a quality of life,” he said.

“The government wants investment and they want business. It’s a win-win situation,” he added.

ATIPA Request Documents:

Municipal Request 1

Municipal Request 2

Provincial Request 1

Provincial Request 2

Provincial Request 3

Federal Request 1

Federal Request 2

Regulatory changes to the party bus industry in British Columbia won’t stop underage passengers from sipping flasks full of liquor or popping pills on board.

Newly released documents from the Ministry of Transportation show that the ministry acknowledges they can’t prevent illegal activities on party buses.

In a ministerial briefing from Sept. 30, 2014, that was obtained through a freedom of information request, the ministry discusses how behaviours demonstrated on a party bus are already against the law and how they’ve taken action to remind party bus companies of their safety obligations.

But five months after the briefing, the ministry made regulatory changes in an attempt to make party buses safer.

In a press conference on Feb. 26, 2015, Minister of Transportation Todd Stone announced that stretch SUV limousines and party buses will need special authorization from the Passenger Transportation Board to operate. The board regulates licences, rates, areas of operation and fleet size.

Until then, anyone with a driver’s licence could own and operate a party bus. With these stricter rules in place, the police will know where these buses are driving around, said the ministry in an emailed response.

The changes are meant to make teen passengers safer, deter underage drinking and crack down on bad operators. 

But NDP transportation critic George Heyman said much more is needed if the province wants to prevent future tragedies.

Heyman is referring to the deaths of two 16-year-olds on party buses in metro Vancouver in 2008 and 2013.

“There is nothing more important than protecting young people,” said Heyman. “But the reality is it’s still dangerous for teens.”

Heyman said bus drivers can’t see what’s happening behind them and the new special authorization won’t solve that problem.

So how do theses changes make party buses more safe for teens?

The ministry didn’t directly answer that question. 

In an emailed response from a ministry spokesperson, they write that the new regulations allow the government to have an increased level of scrutiny. 

“By levelling the playing field in the industry, licensees will have to be more accountable.”

But Heyman thinks the Ministry of Transportation is simply throwing the responsibility to regulate the industry on someone else.

“They’ve left this to the Passenger Transportation Board. I suppose they could ask the board specifically to do certain things but they’ve done the minimum here so far.”

That’s why in 2014 Heyman introduced a private members bill with recommendations to make party buses safer. 

He proposed a chaperone to travel with minors, stiffer fines, mandatory safety training for drivers, and for operators to be held liable for ‘travelling bar’ advertisements. 

“It’s an industry where advertising shows passengers congregating around a stripper pole holding cups full of alcohol. What can you expect?”

Heyman’s bill didn’t make it past the first reading.

The ministry says that the current regulatory structure limits their ability to impose terms like the requirement for a chaperone to accompany minors.

However, Heyman believes the ministry could impose terms through legislative change, but there is a reluctance to introduce any more regulation.

“There is no guarantee that much more will happen to regulate party buses,” he said.

“The government felt enough pressure to make a change, but not enough.”

Requests for comment from party bus companies in British Columbia were unreturned.

___________________________________________________________________________

Below is a link to a package that contains all my requests:

Kate Cornick’s formal and informal requests

For the assignment

What is the information?

The information is from a ministerial briefing prepared for the Minister of Transportation Todd Stone for a meeting with Don Zurowski from the Passenger Transportation Board on Oct. 1, 2014. The briefing includes background, discussion, and questions and answers related to the party bus industry in B.C.

From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?

The pages are from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in British Columbia (provincial government), but I did not request for these documents myself. They were given to me in class after none of my formal and infromal requests yielded a story or were returned.

Why was this information helpful?

This information provided me with deeper insight into the ministry’s thinking five months prior to the announcement about regulatory changes to the party bus industry. It gave me an idea of what the ministry had done to date to address passenger safety on party buses and an inside look into some of the discussions that were being had surrounding the issue. I learnt that the ministry was essentially saying there was nothing they could do, and they tried to justify their role in regulating the party buses to date.

By Nicole Rutherford

Transport Canada is worried about terrorists using 3D-printed weaponry to hijack airplanes. Documents obtained through access to information show that since 2013 government officials have been tracking an American website, Defense Distributed, for crafting the first entirely 3D-printable gun and then uploading the digital instructions online.

“On May 8^th, 2013 Defense Distributed successfully trialed [a gun called] ‘The Liberator’ in Texas,” reads the report. “‘The Liberator’ was fabricated using a 3D printer… there was reportedly no damage to the shooter of the gun, aside from a small crack in a pin used to secure the barrel.”

A YouTube Video of the First Handheld firing of the Liberator:

The gun is a single-shot weapon and fires regular .380 handgun bullets—though the accuracy of the gun is contestable. After the gun’s creator, Cody Wilson, posted the weapon’s schematics for free it was downloaded over 100,000 times before being pulled by the State Department. Some of these downloaders may have included people who posted on a radicalized jihadist forum, linking to Wilson’s website and saying that the “plastic weapons” would be useful in “hijacking a plane.”

When asked for a comment or update since 2013, Transport Canada only replied via email saying that “3D printing technology continues to develop rapidly. Transport Canada continues to work with Public Safety Canada, the RCMP, CATSA and other authorities to monitor the situation.”

However, some 3D-printing experts believe that any form of 3D weaponry should not be of concern simply because they are unreliable, bulky and expensive compared to other resources that could easily be brought aboard a plane.

“A sharp piece of obsidian would be easier to conceal, cheaper and considerably more dangerous than a 3D printed knife,” said Stephen Burke, the executive accountant of Envirolaser Ltd. 3D printing shop, via email.  “Ever see what a BIC pen can do when jammed hard up someone’s nose?  It kills them.  My point is that 3D-printed knives and similar weapons don’t make sense.”

Nonetheless, two British journalists decided to see if concealing The Liberator was feasible. They successfully snuck the weapon through train yard security from London to Paris, though without certain parts of the gun.

In its entirety The Liberator consists of 16 parts—15 made of a flexible, printable fiber called polymer, and one non-functional metal part put on the gun in order to comply with the Undetectable Firearms Act to make the gun detectable in security scanners—but this part is removable.

Additionally, in order to make the gun actually fire two key parts are also missing from the printing schematics: the firing pin—which consists of a metal nail that anyone can pick up at a hardware store, and a bullet—both of which are detectable in an airport (or train yard) scanner. The British journalists did not include these parts or the optional non-functional metal piece.

So a bigger question to ask would be if 3D-printable ammunition is a possibility.

“Yes, but you’ve got to think it’d only be good if you were point blank,” said Michael Mackay Mclaren, a mechanical engineering student who helps run Carleton University’s 3D Printing Lab. “Hypothetically if you shoot a plastic bullet, it doesn’t have anything to keep it on track…it’s just too light for air resistance everything else it would just stop really quickly.”

Contrary to Burke’s opinion, Mackay Mclaren argued that 3D printing is becoming more accessible, with many manufacturers producing “desktop model” 3D printers starting at $500. These starter models would be capable of printing guns or knives. Additionally, 3D designing programs can be learned by anyone.

“I would say it’s of concern,” said Mackay Mclaren. “Say you get only one shot off. The thing with 3D printers is you can just make five or six guns, stick them in your belt and go.”

Documents used for this Assignment:

The annotated ATIP document from Transport Canada with the relatable sections can be found here.

(*) What is the information?

The information is a debriefing of 2013 findings regarding an American website, known as Defense Distributed (defcad.org, now known as defdist.org), and their success of creating and distributing the schematics for a 3D printed gun. Of more concern with the government was the idea that radicalized jihadists had been posting links to this website and putting forward the idea of using it hijack planes.

(*) From which department and level of government did you obtain these pages?

This came from the federal level of government, specifically Transport Canada.

(*) Why was this information helpful?

This information was very helpful in that it gave me quite a lot of details in order to tell a coherent story. I knew from their perspective where the story started and how it continued to arch onward. The story doesn’t really end as it is an ongoing process as technology develops, but it is a very interesting narrative that enabled me to go out and speak to  people with varying perspectives.

I found that they left quite a lot of information in the file, including cellphone numbers of contacts who actually called me back. This was helpful in expediting my comment request (though I still received a very white-washed comment).

I also saw a lot of holes in the government’s arguments, not only in certain logic flaws, such as the need for ammunition, etc., but also in their record keeping there were inconsistencies (see my “inconsistencies” note on document cloud).

ATIPS I Wasn’t Able to Use/ Didn’t Receive

My original topic idea was to look into the discrepancy between human and animal lyme disease diagnosis and treatment. There has been a huge rise in lyme disease recently, which is a very debilitating disease, yet has no proper way to accurately diagnose it. My topic was going to surround this and my suspicions around this.  Following are my formal and informal requests and replies if I received any. I only received confirmation of requests and no actual information except for a publicly accessible, previously released ATIP from B.C. (which was more about camp sanitization where ticks could be, not specifically lyme disease).

INFORMAL: Public Health Agency of Canada 

INFORMAL: Health Canada 

INFORMAL:  BC Ministry of Health

The World Health Organization’s sugar report has caused concern for Health Canada. Newly released documents reveal Health Canada’s reaction to the World Health Organization draft guidelines on sugar intake.

The draft guidelines were released in March 2014. In March 2015, the World Health Organization adopted those guidelines into a formal report.

Emails from Health Canada were obtained in an access to information request. The emails detail communication notes and strategy from March 2014. One email states that a “key concern” for Health Canada is the impact of World Health Organization recommendations on food labeling, health claims, and nutrient information provided on the Nutrition Facts Table.

Representatives from Health Canada declined to comment on the access to information request.

Canada, like most countries around the world, has not set a quantified limit for sugar intake. However, it provides dietary guidelines on foods that are high in sugar, states Eric Morisette, the Manager of Media Relations at Health Canada.

To mitigate concern, Health Canada began a policy review for nutrition labeling.

To execute the review, Health Canada opened a comment section on their website in July 2014. It encouraged the public and stakeholders to provide opinions on food labels.

“The new labeling would give consumers the tools that they need to compare foods and make informed and healthier choices,” states Morisette.

Open forums can help Health Canada to make decisions on how to proceed with policy, states Christine LeGrand, Senior Knowledge Translation Specialist at the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation, a key stakeholder, provided comment and recommendation to the forum.

“Even in light of the fact that Health Canada has not yet set a threshold for recommended intake, the Heart and Stroke Foundation can provide a recommendation,” states LeGrand.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation released its own sugar guidelines in August 2014. Their guidelines are aligned with that of the World Health Organization.

“We look to the adoption of those guidelines by Health Canada. That’s ideal. That’s what we would like to see.”

Health Canada closed its discussion forum in September 2014.

“At this point we’re analyzing the information that we collected throughout the process,” states Morisette.

There is no date set for the release of the new position ad no changes have been made to nutrition labels.

“Canada is the first and only country in the world to have proposed multiple approaches to sugar labeling,” states Morisette.

The World Health Organization recommends a reduced intake of free sugars. Free sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides. They are sugars which are added to foods by the manufacturer, cook, or consumer. They are also sugars that are naturally present in fruit, honey, and syrups. The World Health Organization recommends reducing the intake of free sugars to less than 10 per cent of total energy intake.

This is a “strong recommendation”.

A “conditional recommendation” encourages a further reduction of the intake of free sugars to be below five per cent.

Canada currently follows the Dietary Reference Intakes. The Dietary Reference Intakes provides suggestions for sugar consumption. The suggestions are included in Canada’s Food Guide.

“Those guidelines really assist a government to set policy,” states Laura Pasut, Director of Nutrition for the Canadian Sugar Institute.

Both Health Canada and the United States government contributed to the Dietary Reference Intakes. The guidelines recommends that Canadians consume a maximum level of 25 per cent of energy from their sugars.

“There was a concern that above those levels people would not be consuming enough foods from the various food groups in order to get all their micronutrients,” states Pasut.

LeGrand states that the government and stakeholders, such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation, should continue to focus on providing a common message to Canadians.

“They less sugar they eat, the better they are,” states LeGrand.

Follow below to see a timeline of sugar recommendations.Click the right hand arrow to move through time.

——————————————————————-

ASSIGNMENT COMPONENTS

(1) In the link below title “ATIP_Requests you will find copies of at least one request to each three levels of government (1 federal, 2 provincial and 2 municipal). The PDF document also includes three requests for previously released records from the federal government.

ATIP_Requests

(2) My communications were done over the phone. This is an example of one of the out of office requests I received. I did not find the information from many of my ATIPs very useful and therefore further contact was not necessary.

(3) Here is the document cloud link to the ATIP. For this article I used the entire ATIP however, here are two pages which were particularly helpful.

TwoPageExtract

– These are emails from Health Canada concerning the government’s “standard response on sugar.” There is also a memo to an Assistant Deputy Minister of Health.

– These emails/ communications are from Health Canada.

– This information was helpful because it stated that “a key concern” for the federal department would the impact of the World Health Organization sugar guidelines. This was the starting point for my article. From there, I was able to chart Health Canada’s concerns throughout 2014. I did not get comment on whether Health Canada was still concerned or not. However, this provided insight into the current position of Health Canada.

The BC government has shelled out almost $2.5 million dollars to clean up several large spills in the last decade – and it’s due to pay out more.

In documents obtained through an access to information request to the Ministry of Environment, a listing of six major spills revealed that the government only recovered $500,000 of $3 million spent to restore affected areas.

In the case of the Robson Bight incident in 2007, the government had to pay the entire bill after the trucking company that caused the spill went into bankruptcy – a whopping $1.5 million. Ted Leroy Trucking was transporting a fuel truck by barge when it tipped over into the ocean. Although the owner was convicted of pollution charges, he didn’t have to pay a cent.

During a legislature session on Mar. 2, 2015 opposition critic Spencer Chandra-Herbert questioned the ministry’s response to a more recent spill. The Mount Polley accident in August 2014 released tailings pond water into nearby lakes.

He said that the opposition was worried that the ministry couldn’t “ensure that the polluter pays every last penny” and that the cost would be put on “the backs of British Columbians”.

Environment minister Mary Polak revealed that the current cost to government for the Mount Polley breach was around $2-million dollars.

Chandra-Herbert said, “I don’t think that British Columbians should have to subsidize the clean-up of oil or other materials that corporations spill into our environment. It’s just wrong.”

Graham Knox, director of the environmental emergency program, said that the government is aware of the failings of the current cost-recovery model.

He said that when spillers are bankrupt, unidentified, or want to contest responsibility for the spill, the government can end up eating the costs.

Knox said some members of industry argue that because they pay taxes in the province, they shouldn’t have to cover all the costs of spills. “Spills aren’t a legal activity,” said Knox, “your operation doesn’t get three free spills because you pay taxes.”

There are avenues that exist for the government to recoup its losses, such as declaring an environmental emergency through the Provincial Emergency Program or applying to the federal Ship Source Oil Pollution Fund. The fund can compensate claimants for marine oil spills, while the emergency program has millions of dollars at its disposal.

However, there are limitations to each of these funding sources. For example, most of the emergency funds are earmarked for disasters that threaten public safety, said Knox.

In the Robson Bight spill, the oil pollution fund refused to pay for recovery costs of the submerged vehicles, stating in their annual report that “the measures taken were out of proportion to the threat posed.”

Over the past few years the government has been crafting a new spill preparedness and response approach using public input. Knox said it is likely that their department will bring the new approach in front of the legislature this spring.

One remedy that could stop taxpayers from paying for spill clean-ups would be a requirement that “risk-bringers” (companies that transport oil or other hazardous materials) pay into a fund that would be used in cases where the government can’t receive payment from the offending company.

However, citizens are concerned about more than just their tax dollar. They want to hold offending companies to account.

Megan Rowe, a Victoria resident, supports the government enforcing the “polluter pays” policy more effectively. “Without the threat of having to clean up a spill, and be financially responsible for that operation,” she said, “there is nothing to hold them responsible for the damages caused.”

Ministry of Environment Information Request 

Informal Request 1

Informal Request 2 & 3

Municipal Request

Provincial Request

Federal Request

Students in British Columbia want their own Society Act.

In a document obtained through Freedom of Information, the Graduate Student Society at UBC Vancouver stated that they have repeatedly requested a separate act. They believe that student societies are unique, and that the existing laws do not support their individual needs.

Student societies currently fall under the same act that governs more than 27,000 organizations in BC. The act outlines laws and regulations for these institutions.

“We feel that student societies are unique enough to merit a separate statute governing their composition and activities. This solution would more effectively address persistent issues facing student societies,” they said.

This statement, along with those of other student societies in BC, was submitted as part of a consultation process in 2014. The Ministry of Finance is making changes to the current act and wanted feedback on its draft from societies across the province.

Many student societies argued that the best option would be to establish a separate Student Society Act.

Pierre Cenerelli is a University and Government Relations Advisor at UBC Vancouver. He said that student societies are caught between sectors. They are like a public organization, but differ in the sense that their memberships are mandatory.

Any student attending a university is automatically considered a member of the society, unlike public societies that have the freedom to determine and control their memberships. This allows universities to collect membership fees upon student enrolment.

“The Society Act works well with organizations where membership is freely taken on, but ours is not. Anybody going to a school is a member of a society by obligation, so they have to pay fees,” he said.

The new Society Act would allow members the option to resign, putting student societies at risk of losing funds.

Cenerelli said that a Student Society Act would better serve the needs of universities.

“Both our members and us would be better served by a separate act,” he said. “We have mentioned this as something that we would like, but we don’t know if there’s any appetite in the government to do this.”

Other common feedback to the draft included changes to Section 99, which would allow members of the public to file formal complaints against societies. In response to this, the Canadian Federation of Students in British Columbia said, “Student societies are not designed to serve the ‘public interest,’ but rather, the interests of their members.”

If a separate Student Society Act is not possible, they hope to be exempt from this section of the act.

Although the ministry could not be reached for comment, Cenerelli is hoping for a positive outcome.

“We have no idea at this point, but you never know,” he said. “A Student Society Act would be a great solution.”

Access-to-Information Requests:

For informal request #1, click here.
For informal request #2, click here.
For informal request #3, click here.

For federal request, click here.
For municipal request, click here.
For provincial request, click here.

Only one North Korean defector was granted asylum in Canada in 2014, a stark difference from the 222 who were granted refugee status in 2012.

Canada’s acceptance rate of North Koreans plummeted to zero per cent from its all-time high of 79 percent in 2012, according to data retrieved through an access to information request to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

This sudden shift can be attributed to Bill C-31, according to Alain Dionne, Ottawa’s regional director for Human Rights for North Korea.

“Basically it’s a policy of self-deportation,” said Dionne.

In 2012, then immigration minister Jason Kenney introduced this bill that included a “safe countries list.”

According to the government, these ‘safe’ countries are “countries that do not normally produce refugees, but do respect human rights and offer state protection”.

This means that the Canadian government categorizes North Korean defectors as South Korean refugee claimants. These defectors almost always come to Canada through South Korea.

Refugee claimants from these safe countries will be given less time to prepare their claims before a hearing and will be subject to much faster removal times once a claim is rejected, according to the government website.

“Too many tax dollars are spent on asylum claimants who are not in need of protection,” it states on the Government of Canada website.

South Korea was put on the safe countries list in 2013.

Since then, North Korean defectors have a more difficult time obtaining refugee status in Canada.

This policy heightens the risk of deportation back to South Korea, which is what many North Koreans fear.

The safe countries policy “was wrong from the first step,” said Michelle Jang, a North Korean defector living in Canada. “Canada lacks in its understanding of defectors and their situations.”

For North Koreans, like Jang, who have been through hiding and persecution in several other countries like China before arriving in Canada, the risk of deportation back to South Korea is a sensitive issue.

Jang was working in South Korea when a fellow employee asked her a question.

“When he found out that I was a North Korean defector, he asked me ‘How do you live? How do you have a house?’” said Jang.

Jang explained to him the process in which North Koreans receive aid from the South Korean government. It was the response of her South Korean colleague that left an imprint on Jang’s memory to this day.

“He said right to my face ‘They [the South Korean government] don’t even take care of their own people, but they’re caring for defectors?’” said Jang. “I was deeply shocked.”

This is when she understood that North Koreans like her were facing similar prejudice on the other side of the Korean border.

“Canada’s fair and generous refugee system offers protection for vulnerable persons who genuinely need it,” said Remi Lariviere, a communications spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The refugee claimant must not be “a citizen, national or permanent resident of a country, other than the one you left, where you could go and live permanently without fear of persecution,” said Lariviere.

“There’s quite a lot of discrimination,” in South Korea, said Dionne. “They’re not mentally or socially prepared to deal with it. Life in South Korea is rough.”

Thomas Yoo, a Salvation Army pastor in Toronto, was a translator for North Korean refugee claimants between 2005 and 2008.

“They had terrible stories,” said Yoo. “They lived like slaves.”

“They actually have no place. Not North Korea, not South Korea, not China,” said Yoo. “But when they came to Canada, it’s another issue to be accepted because [the Canadian government] says South Koreans are not eligible.”

However, the Canadian government accepted five times more refugees from South Korea last year.

Five South Korean refugees were granted asylum in Canada in 2014, according to another document retrieved through access to information request.

With such prospects, Jang is still waiting for her application status.

“I don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”

——
Documents used:

1) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689936-north-korea-2006-thru-2014.html#document/p1/a208968
– IRB data on North Koreans claimants status 2006-2014
– from the federal government – Immigration and Refugee Board
– This information gave me the numbers for this story (acceptance/rejection rates from 2012 and 2014 mainly)

2) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689937-south-korea-2006-thru-2014.html#document/p1/a208965
– IRB data on South Koreans claimants status 2006-2014
– from the federal government – Immigration and Refugee Board
– this information gave me the numbers for this story (acceptance rate from 2014 compared to the North Korean acceptance rate for 2014)

3) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1689964/image-4.pdf
– IRB data on North Korean claimants status from 1993-2013
– from the federal government – Immigration and Refugee Board
– This gave me insight into when the first North Korean refugees began coming to Canada (1997) and the trends from then onwards. I was also able to see when the first North Korean defector was given asylum in Canada (2000).

Links to informal requests & Correspondence:

1) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689951-gmail-re-ati-request-submission-requete-de.html#document/p1/a208977

2) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689950-gmail-access-to-information-request-confirmation.html#document/p3/a208978

3) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689949-correspondencegmail-access-requests.html#document/p1/a208979

4) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689948-5gmail-access-to-information-request-confirmation.html#document/p1/a208980

5) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689947-4gmail-access-to-information-request-confirmation.html#document/p1/a208981

6) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689946-3gmail-access-to-information-request-confirmation.html#document/p1/a208982

7) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1689945-2gmail-access-to-information-request-confirmation.html#document/p1/a208983

8) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1689963/image-3.pdf

Links to formal requests:

1) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1689961/image-1.pdf

2) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1689962/image-2.pdf

3) http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1689966/image.pdf