NDP calls for UPEI, Holland College to come under FOIPP
'Both institutions receive large public grants and as such must have the highest accountability'
The NDP on P.E.I. is renewing calls for UPEI and Holland College to fall under provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation.
In a written release issued Monday, NDP leader Mike Redmond said he was reacting to a recent CBC story that the institutions are receiving more than $20 million from the federal and provincial governments. Neither school should receive more public funding, Redmond asserted, until they are required to disclose how they are spending it.
"Both institutions receive large public grants and as such must have the highest accountability when it comes to spending public dollars," said Redmond.
Not the first time
Redmond made a similar suggestion this past June, while calling on the province to look at merging the two schools.
He also believes municipalities should fall under the act.
In 2014, students at UPEI called on the government to make the university subject to FOIPP legislation.
Green Party leader Peter Bevan-Baker and the PEI Progressive Conservativeshave also suggested the schools and municipalities be subject to FOIPP.
"We have a ferry at Wood Islands that has run with one or no boat and we can not afford to build a much needed manor in Montague and Tyne Valley, but this government can write checks to UPEI when ever it sees fit," said Redmond.
Current policies being reviewed
The Department of Workforce and Advanced Learning told CBC in a written statement it has reached out to UPEI and Holland College on their position on being subject to FOIPP legislation.
"Both institutions have responded stating that their Board of Governors will be undertaking a review of its current regulations and policies as it relates to FOIPP," reads a written statement from the department.
"Our government has made it a priority to foster an environment of increasing openness and transparency. Subsequently, we want to ensure our post secondary institutions are demonstrating similar principles to ensure our students learn in an open and transparent environment."
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