TORONTO – The OPP has been named one of the most secretive law enforcement agencies in the country.

On Feb. 27 the OPP was announced as one of seven co-winners of the 2019 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy in the law enforcement category.

The other winners were police forces in Sudbury, Windsor, Peterborough, Longueuil, Quebec City, and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary.

The award is given annually by four journalism organizations: the Canadian Association of Journalists, Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University, News Media Canada, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.

The goal, officials state, is to draw attention to government departments and agencies that “put extra effort into denying public access to government information to which the public has a right under access to information legislation.”

The seven police forces are receiving the 2019 award for varying degrees of secrecy in regards to a Globe and Mail request for information on the origin of handguns in the nation, following a deadly shooting in Toronto’s Danforth neighbourhood.

“The Globe and Mail decided to find out where the guns (used) in Canadian crime came from by submitting access to information requests to 36 police forces across Canada,” states the Code of Silence Award citation.

“Of those 36 forces, most did not collect any kind of information on where their crime guns came from. Three police forces that did (Peterborough, Windsor, and Sudbury) indicated that there would be significant fees for their data with one request having an estimate of $24,460.

“They also warned it could be many months before records would be produced.”

The citation continues, “Disturbingly, four other police forces ([the OPP], Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Quebec City, and Longueuil) flatly refused to release anything at all.

“The refusal of the OPP was especially concerning as it maintains the Firearms Tracing and Enforcement database (FATE), which logs the results of all trace requests by police services in Ontario – exactly the data being sought.”

The citation concludes, “With the conversation about a federal gun ban heavily pivoting on the debate around the legality of firearms used in crime in Canada, transparency around where the guns are coming from is a necessity.”

West Region OPP Sergeant Laura Lee Brown stated on March 6 that she had forwarded an Advertiser request for comment to OPP Corporate Communications.

As of press time the newspaper had not received a response.

“In Wellington County we do try to share as much as we can with the public,” stated Wellington OPP Constable Josh Cunningham.