Document on RCMP's troubled protective service
Access-to-info release cites Mountie staffing problems
The Toronto Star recently published a strong piece on the problems facing the RCMP’s personal protective service, which safeguards politicians and officials from harm.
The story was based on a Privy Council Office (PCO) briefing note, which I also obtained independently, through the Access to Information Act.
The Toronto Star story quoted from the briefing note, and provided good context, but did not post the original document on its website, at least as far as I could tell.
I believe that routine posting of source documents obtained through freedom of information and elsewhere should be standard practice in newsrooms, wherever practical. The technology and storage is readily available, and the material gives the reader or viewer an opportunity to check the facts in the article. It’s a matter of transparency in the profession.
In that spirit, I’m posting the PCO briefing document here. Readers will immediately note the heavy censorship of the material, another aspect that journalists too seldom highlight in their use of freedom-of-information documents:
Excellent piece, as always Dean. Your comment about the extensive redactions was spot on, if a little gentle. David