James Turk has been advocating for democracy and freedom of expression for most of his career. He is currently the director of the Centre for Free Expression at the Metropolitan Toronto University in Ontario, where he works on intervention in court cases, research public education, whistleblower protection, and introducing anti SLAPP legislation, which is Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
But as December rolls around, the Centre (along with partners Canadian Association of Journalists, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression begin to focus on this year’s The Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy, a dubious award bestowed on governments and government agencies who have “ engaged in very egregious secretive practices”, Turk told CICK News. He is referring to agencies who have limited, or in some cases made impossible access to public information. Turk is on CICK News explaining the history and relevance for an award that shines a light on government departments and agencies that distinguish themselves by denying public access to government information to which the public has a right under access-to-information legislation.
