This week in both The Reminder’s editorial and advertising space, you’ll notice a significant amount of content regarding Bill 8 and Bill 19.
That’s because these bills are a big deal to you, the reader, and any other average resident of Manitoba.
Bills 8 (The Government Notices Modernization Act) and 19 (The Planning Amendment Act) are bills being considered by the Manitoba government that will relieve it of its responsibility to place public notices in community newspapers.
These notices are currently required to be published in community newspapers to spread information about government dealings that affect you, the reader, the average Manitoban. These notices are an effective way to inform the public about important things going on in their backyard – public hearings, or the use of chemicals, locally, for instance.
And make no mistake – community newspapers in the province publish more than 400,000 copies each week, and have a readership of about 80 per cent. Government notices certainly reach the public in this way.
If Bills 8 and 19 are passed, the government will be required only to publish notices in The Manitoba Gazette.
What’s The Manitoba Gazette, you ask? I know I did.
The Gazette is an online publication that contains items the government legally must publish.
If Bills 8 and 19 are passed, then, the onus to become aware of government activity and information falls back on the average Manitoban, who, if they want to know what’s going on, will have to actively search out this information, rather than finding it in the community newspapers that come across their coffee tables reliably each and every week.
It’s important that Manitobans – our readers – understand that if these bills are passed, by posting government notices in the Gazette the provincial government will have fulfilled its responsibility to inform the public – the rest is up to the public itself.
Now, who is going to actively check the Manitoba government website each and every day to discover what the government is up to?
Literally no one.
Even if information is spread through social media, complicated algorithms mean that only some audiences will see that information – others won’t.
And then there’s the issue of Manitoba residents with poor or non-existent internet service – they won’t have the opportunity to see this information at all.
Making information accessible does not mean that it will be accessed, and passing these bills will create a barrier to government transparency and accountability, something that is simply unacceptable.
Some Manitobans are putting pressure on the Manitoba government to change the wording of the bills so that public notices are still required to be published in the province’s community newspapers. To make sure your voice is heard on the matter, contact your MLA.
