There once was a time in my life when I still believed in the good faith of university administration employees. This quickly change when I worked as news editor of La Rotonde for a year and realized administration members would go to great length just to keep information away from me.
They sure kept up with these standards this year when dealing with an access to information request I filed to the University, taking their full grace period of 30 days to finally get back to me, just to say they couldn't disclose the documents I wanted.
What a surprise! Did I really think the U of O would ever release records documenting complaints made against their Protection officers? Or release the expense account of the University's beloved Allan Rock?
This is why I was so surprised when the Secretary Office at Carleton University responded positively to the access to information request I filed with them.
I asked Carleton for surveys of their Dining Services as well as complaints filed against the University's Aramark-run cafeterias.
Within two weeks after mailing my request, I received a letter from them saying they were working on my case. All the material I asked for was ready for pick-up well within the 30-day deadline and one of their employees from the Freedom of Information department even gave me tips on how I could get the fees waived.
But after my University of Ottawa years, I was suspicious. How could a Canadian post-secondary institution so easily agree to release possibly damaging information?
At first, they were going to charge me over $60 for the documents, but told me all I had to do was write a letter asking for the fees to be waived. I did so, and success! They waved the fees. They even called me on my cellphone to ask me whether I wanted to pick up the documents myself or have them mailed to me.
After all this trouble, I didn't want to risk the chance of having the documents "mysteriously" disappear in the mail. I was sure the University was still planning some sort of scheme to keep these documents out of my hands.
So I said I would pick them up myslef. The Freedom of Information lady said she would leave the envelope in a plastic bin in the main room outside her office so that I could pick it up anytime during the day.
I agreed and said I would drop by the next day. Before hanging up, she specified that everyone has access to that room but that she would be surprised if someone else left with my envelope.
After I hung up, I couldn't stop thinking about those last words...a lightbulb went on in my head.
Suddenly, I was sure that the University would somehow make the documents disappear from the bin before I got a chance to pick them up. Or, that the documents wouldn't even be placed in the bin in the first place.
I knew it. Just like the U of O, Carleton University had some twisted plan to make sure I would never see these complaints. It was all clear. They even had the perfect excuse for it. They could simply say I consented to have my documents left in an open area and that they were not responsible for the lost.
At that point, I ran to Robertson Hall as fast as I could. I had to get my documents before they would get stolen and burned by some insider who was part of the conspiracy.
When I arrived on the sixth floor of Robertson Hall, all sweaty and out of breath, a brown enveloppe was waiting for me in the plastic bin. At last, my records. The Freedom of Information lady was even there and smiled at me as I picked up the envelope and put it to safety under my arm.
So there was no conspiracy. No scheme. Just surprisingly cooperative people working at the Freedom of Information office of Carleton.
Maybe one day I will heal from my U of O wounds.
As for now, I have a whole bunch of students' complaints against Carleton's Dining Services to go through.
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