This is the best summary I could come up with:

It’s a province where the survival of endangered species such as orcas, caribou or spotted owls are constantly at odds with the lucrative harvest of forests, fish and minerals, and precision and care are important in discussing these issues.

When image management is the primary concern of decision makers, there’s an implied reputational risk if they’re seen to be ignoring their own expert staff – never mind that that’s what our elected governments are routinely doing, on files ranging from the Greenbelt to salmon farms.

When I was investigating reports of threats and harassment faced by the government’s at-sea observers, who help maintain the sustainability of the trawl fishery off the coast of British Columbia, the federal agency responsible for their safety – Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) – declined every interview request I sent.

When I later obtained records that showed what it had done internally to respond to those claims of abuse, communications staff finally agreed to an interview with the person who had directed an overhaul to the observer system, only to cancel at the last minute without explanation.

It’s an extra source of daily friction that dumps sand in the gears of a newsgathering engine that’s already barely chugging along, thanks to shrinking budgets and newsrooms.

Leaders, from politicians to local managers, need to pro-actively empower their expert staff to answer questions from the media directly.

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