b.c: Freedom of Information Act amendments under fire
Alisa Voznaya, The Peak

A civil liberties watchdog is criticising the provincial government's amendments to the Freedom of Information Act.

The B.C. Liberal government introduced a miscellaneous statutes amendment bill on October 9, covering several provincial statutes, including the Employment Standards Act, the Highway Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

The amendments to the Freedom of Information Act, which came into force in October 1993 and covers all provincial ministries, crown corporations, agencies, commissions and boards, will permit the government to exempt records of meetings where only one cabinet minister is in attendance.

"It's an important principle of democracy that the legislative body be transparent to the public," said Murray Mollard, executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. Mollard believes that the executive branch of the government needs the privilege of secrecy to conduct some of its work, but says that the new amendment would unjustly extend this privilege to non-cabinet members.

A July 26 order by the information and privacy commissioner would be directly overridden when these amendments are approved. The commissioner ruled that committees consisting of MLAs, including some cabinet ministers, are not exempted from the provisions of the act.

A civil liberties group says the proposed changes contradict Premier Gordon Campbell's previous promises of an "open cabinet." On June 27, 2001, during the first open cabinet meeting, Campbell announced that it was important to open up the government and to adhere to the Freedom of Information Act.

Currently, the Freedom of Information Act increases government accountability by giving the public a right of access to government records and providing for review of decisions by an independent information and privacy commissioner.

The proposed amendment will reverse the order of the commissioner and also allow the cabinet to exempt any meetings in which a cabinet minister takes part.

"The amendment simply confirms that government caucus committees are committees of cabinet," stated Sandy Santori, B.C. minister of management services, in a letter to the Vancouver Sun. According to Santori, the amendment reinforces the act's original intention and does not change or expand what information is protected.

The direct consequence of this amendment will affect those who seek to understand the workings of the government, as they won't be able to gain access to many MLA meetings. Mollard claims that government transparency and accountability are important because they allow the voters to retain their sovereignty from the elected government.

Santori insists on the legitimacy of the amendment by saying that the information and privacy commissioner publicly stated that he does not oppose or object to the amendment.

The commissioner will continue to monitor the application of the amendment to prevent it from being misused.

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