Every once in a while I do a big “FOI Buffet” blog post. It’s essentially a big posting of Freedom of Information responses that I’ve received from the government on various topics.

For those who aren’t familiar with the Freedom of Information process, it’s a method used by journalists, the CTF and others to formally ask the government for documents or records (The Freedom of Information Act governs the process...although that doesn't mean governments always hand the material over willingly!)

Each year we file hundreds of requests with governments across Canada to investigate government activities and follow-up on whistleblower tips. Here are a few responses from government bodies in Saskatchewan that people might find of interest…

1) Secretive Studies? – As you can see in this request – click here – I asked the Ministry of Health for any analysis it had on the financial impact of demographic changes occurring in Saskatchewan (the province’s aging population in particular.)

Experts predict there will be a colossal financial impact (see this column) on provincial governments as our nation ages and health care costs go through the roof, so I thought I would see what numbers the Saskatchewan government has forecast.

But, as you can see from the government's response, most of their analysis is considered confidential. 66 of the 72 pages were ‘blacked out.’ My scanner doesn’t show it too well, but pages with “17 (1)(g)” included big grey boxes to hide text the Ministry didn’t want to release. But what could be so confidential? After all, the feds release a giant report each year that highlights the big picture impact, why can't the Sask bureaucracy?

Even more troublesome is this report from the Ministry of Finance – click here. I asked them for any financial analysis on the long-term impacts of demographic changes, but as you can see, the government doesn’t have anything. Insert joke here about governments only planning four years out.

2) Photo Radar – How much has been collected in revenues so far? Has the money gone into “safety” programs? To see the answer – click here.

3) Sask Sick Days – As some readers know, the CTF has been looking into sick days taken by government workers for years. Well, here are the latest numbers in terms of the average number of days taken for employees in each Ministry – click here.

4) Sask Housing – In Manitoba, the CTF investigated the prevalence of high-income earners in social housing and discovered dozens of people with eyebrow raising incomes nestled into government-subsidized housing.

Our investigative efforts eventually led to the government taking a closer look and taking action to address a number of problems (click here to learn more.)

Given the problems in Manitoba and issues uncovered by my former colleague Derek Fildebrandt in Alberta (the pioneer on this issue) I tried to see if the same problems might be happening in Saskatchewan, but hit a brick wall. See this estimate of $20,218 to see the details – click here.

5) Regina Bypass – It’s touted by the provincial government as “the largest transportation infrastructure project in Saskatchewan’s history,” but getting important details on the Regina Bypass project seems to be an equally large task.

Back in April, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation started to look into the bypass plan after people watching the initiative closely claimed that the design chosen could cost “$100 million” more than necessary.

We asked the government for briefing notes or presentations provided to the Minister of Highways. Such documents would likely outline the pros and cons, as well as costs, for each design option being considered. The government responded to our request by claiming the documents were confidential. While we did receive some information through other requests, plenty of details were blacked out.

Click here to see the government’s responses. You can also see a column I wrote on the matter by – clicking here.

6) SaskPower – Recently we picked on SaskPower for some of the ridiculous expenses included in its $143 million refurbishment plan for its Regina headquarters (a project which was shelved after the CTF started asking questions.)

Well, here’s a shout out to the utility for a couple good decisions it made to save ratepayers money. The utility has partnered with private companies to handle service desk calls and caretaking functions – a move that has already saved over $1 million. Click here to see the FOI response.