Freedom Of Information should make town open not closed

Freedom of Information was not created to keep information from the public.
In fact, when it was brought into law in 1990s its aim was to do exactly the opposite. The concept was to ensure that people had access to information such as medical or official records that had previously been denied them. The best example is the impact this legislation has had on adoption records.
Freedom of Information was also intended to give the public access to information from all levels of governments, including municipal. The idea being to keep public bodies open to the public.
It seems the spirit of this act is being lost on the Town of Osoyoos. Instead of using this act to be open with the taxpayers of Osoyoos, the opposite is happening.
For example, this newspaper made a formal FOI request for the legal costs regarding the town's struggles with Rattlesnake Canyon. What we received was a reprint of a speech made by Mayor John Slater where he wrote the costs were just over $22,000.
There was absolutely no back-up documentation to support this claim. No invoices, no cancelled checks, nothing. Just one person's word as to what those costs were.
We're not saying John Slater isn't telling the truth, but isn't the whole point behind making a FOI request to get that back up documentation that not only shows, but proves those figures?rnRegardless of the fact that $22,000 seems extremely low for a court battle that has gone on for some time, it is hard not to be critical of the town for what we believe is a misuse of the Freedom of Information act. Instead of being forthcoming with as much information as possible, the town has given out a little information as they possibly could in this case.
We can't help but ask why?