Bermudian Jennifer Caines supports Sunshine Week — and she's even got the fireplace to prove it.

The mother-of-two has given the fireplace at her Devonshire home an Easter makeover for the benefit of her five-year-old daughter Iannah — and one of the spring motifs is a sun.

Mrs. Caines told The Royal Gazette that though the decoration was for fun she was a serious supporter of The Royal Gazette's A Right to Know: Giving People Power campaign, which calls for public access to information legislation to be passed this year.

"I promised my daughter I would do an Easter theme and once I did it I said: 'this coincides with Sunshine Week with Thursday being Wear Yellow Day'."

Mrs. Caines has a number of reasons for wanting to see a more open government in Bermuda — not least of which is a long-running dispute she has with the Department of Planning about land she owns in St. David's.

The Mid-Ocean News, the Gazette's sister paper, reported in early 2007 how Mrs. Caines claimed a letter of objection she submitted regarding a planning application for a driveway on a neighbour's property — which she says encroaches on her land — was disregarded without justification.

She claimed the application was fast-tracked at a ministerial level and said struggled to get answers from civil servants about how the process was carried out.

The Department of Planning was rapped more than the knuckles by Ombudsman Arlene Brock in her 2007 annual report, published earlier this year, for a lack of transparency.

Mrs. Caines complained to the Ombudsman and was told that no maladministration was found on the part of Planning. But she said she felt vindicated by Ms Brock's report, including the admission from the Ombudsman that she herself had trouble getting information from the department.

"If it takes Sunshine Week to aid me in the process of finding light at the end of the tunnel, I'll seize the opportunity to share my views," said Mrs. Caines, who says she has spent $20,000 on legal fees trying to get a resolution to her case.

"I often wonder what the true purpose of some of the government-funded bodies is. No matter which agency you go to for help it appears that the process, especially complaints against the government, is often manipulated and the divide and conquer strategy is used."

Mrs. Caines told this newspaper yesterday she believes that if the Island gets a freedom of information law and a more open system of government, taxpayers can expect to receive a better service.

"If you talk about openness and frankness and the integrity of it all, I feel if they implemented the proper legislation, it would help.

"It may make some of the individuals in these high-paid jobs be more accountable for the positions they hold."