City Administration Hamstringing The Free Press With Arbitrary Policy

Questions regarding what policies are being applied to news media, how, when and by who were raised by the Medicine Hat Owl following city administration reaffirming it won’t provide interviews to this organization.

In an interview with Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark on Friday, she stated she’s not aware of any official city administration protocol towards news media.

“I don’t think we have a specific policy,” Clark told the Owl.

She added, “I’m meeting with you but on the administrative side of the building there might be other rules. I don’t understand what those rules are.”

In an email to the Owl the day following CHAT TV shuttering its news operation, city communications director Colleen Graham wrote, “the City of Medicine Hat won’t accommodate (Medicine Hat Owl) with media interviews or include in press conferences.”

The email went on to state, “we recognize the importance of a free press and are committed to transparency through responsible public communication. However, we also have a responsibility to ensure that our time and resources are directed toward interactions that contribute meaningfully to public understanding and discourse.”

The response was prompted by a request by the Owl for an on-camera interview for an upcoming video segment highlighting National Indigenous Peoples Day.

Graham cited the Canadian Association of Journalist (CAJ) ethics guidelines but would not provide specific examples of the Owl being in breach of any of them. Nor has city administration raised concerns about this organization’s articles. The city has sought and received one minor correction in one article in the past two years upon request by a senior administrator following a review of the facts.

The administration’s ban on providing media interviews appears to be indefinite with no recourse to appeal as there is no official policy.

The CAJ has not responded for comment regarding if its guidelines designed for journalists should be used as a tool to silence them by a municipal government.

But Mayor Clark is speaking out regarding the situation said while administration has an important role to play in municipal governance, “but the policies and programs that are put that 100 per cent should be council. Ultimately, I think we’re not there.”

Asked if city administration’s policy towards the Owl meets the bar for procedural fairness, Clark suggested it didn’t.

“Even the fact there doesn’t seem to be an avenue of appeal, I can’t articulate the process to you. . .but certainly, procedural fairness requires an opportunity to respond – a meaningful opportunity to respond to whatever the accusations are,” said Clark.

Without knowing the specifics of an accusation, “it is all but impossible for you to respond.”

She added the issue should be put before council.

“And that should be debated at council. And, if there is going to be a policy or procedure, those policies and procedures should be set by the governance body of the city which is council,” said Clark.

She left open the possibility of putting forward a notice of motion to that effect.

The full interview with the mayor, on this topic and others, can be viewed on the Medicine Hat Owl’s YouTube page.