EDITOR,
I would like to commend David Burke on his editorial, "Muzzling the experts" (Chief, July 29). It offers a clear and concise criticism of our federal government's policy of managing the flow of information to their advantage, but to the detriment of the electorate. As pointed out in the editorial, this is a policy which the Harper government has been implementing since they first managed to wrap their claws around our democratic institutions back in 2006.
Everyone should know by now that true democracy does not exist if certain key institutions are not in place to support it. Among the most important is an informed and engaged citizenry. The Conservative government's policy of obstructing our access to any information that contradicts their goals is clearly an affront to our democratic process. I hope that David Burke's editorial is an indication of a positive shift in the performance of the news media in this regard. The fourth estate (the press) is supposed to be an integral part of ensuring an informed citizenry, yet to date it appears to be primarily a willing tool of certain entrenched powers - witness Rupert Murdoch's Fox News in the States and the rise of Sun Mediain Canada.
At any rate, the observations brought up by Mr. Burke deserve a response from our Member of Parliament, John Weston. I'm sure he has a perfectly good explanation.
Bruce Kay
Squamish
