The story in question states “2012 Tough Year For B.C. Information Rights”. Vincent Gogolek, the Executive Director, BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, comments “In B.C. and across Canada, the past 12 months have seen information rights make headlines on a regular basis. And usually not in a good way. “
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Vincent goes on to report the British Canadian Government fought for 8 years to block the release of a contract with IBM, even to the point of taking the matter to the BC Supreme Court, which ordered the release of the contract in full and un-redacted.
Although it appears the BC Government will reluctantly let the public know the terms of a public contract that is being paid with their money, it also “jammed some seriously damaging amendments to information and privacy law into four pieces of otherwise innocuous legislation.”
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By doing so it put “huge amounts of public information under the lock and key of ministerial and cabinet secrecy, and opening sensitive personal data to new threats.”
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At least the government's plans to introduce a poorly-documented province wide ID card were put on hold because of a
labour dispute at ICBC.
Will the B.C. Liberals risk the data disaster trifecta by bringing it in just before the provincial election?”
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Investigations by the Information and Privacy Commissioner also revealed “about two-thirds of completed FOI requests are not being posted on the government's website, contrary to their promise to do so.
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We then revealed that almost a quarter of general FOI requests come back from the B.C. government with no documents whatsoever, while more than a third of requests filed by the media come back empty handed. We look forward to the results of the commissioner's investigations in the new year.”
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The Office is “also looking forward to the results of an investigation into the failure by public bodies across the province to release information about dangers to health safety and the environment.”
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It is a shame when a Government becomes so concerned about public perception that it denies people the right to monitor its actions. The opportunity for the community to judge the Government presents itself at the upcoming elections.
