The Cape Breton Regional Municipality does not plan to challenge a decision to give a Leitches Creek man large amounts of financial data free of charge. Joe Bushell is looking for detailed information on municipal council and staff salaries and the amount of money that’s spent on each vendor the municipality does business with. In August, the province’s acting freedom of information officer ordered the CBRM to comply with the request from Bushell. Carmen Stuart also ruled that the CBRM had not met its duty to assist and had not calculated the 780 dollar fee estimate for gathering the information fairly and accurately. Municipal Clerk Deborah Campbell says the CBRM will comply with the ruling because it would cost taxpayers more to appeal it. Meanwhile, Bushell says he’s glad the municipality isn’t contesting the decision and adds he expects this is just the beginning of a lengthy process of delving into the CBRM’s books.
