British Columbia MLAs lost some sleep as a debate on proposed amendments to B.C.’s freedom of information law stretched into the early hours of Thursday morning.
The B.C. Conservatives had introduced a hoist motion to delay the amendments by six months to allow for more public consultation, but it was eventually voted down.
Government House leader Mike Farnworth moved to curtail debate, and the House adjourned just before 4 a.m.
The Opposition Conservatives and the B.C. Green MLAs raised concerns that the amendments, or Bill 9, will weaken B.C.’s freedom of information and privacy laws.
“We introduced a hoist motion to delay this bill because British Columbians deserve transparency, consultation, and accountability, not another rushed power grab pushed through in the dark of night,” said Halford in a statement Thursday.
B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act aims to protect personal privacy and make public bodies more accountable by giving the public the right to access records.
Citizens’ Services Minister Diana Gibson, in a February statement, presented the amendments as “minor adjustments” to provide clarity to the legislation.
The bill includes some measures to streamline information sharing between agencies and could allow people to access some types of personal records without a formal Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
But critics said the bill contains some key changes that could tighten access to information and reduce transparency.
One change would replace the requirement for public bodies to respond to requests for information “without delay,” with more the subjective wording of “without reasonable delay.”
The changes would require requests to contain enough detail for records to be found “in a reasonable amount of time,” with the head of the public body deciding whether the request is detailed enough.
The grounds for refusing an FOI request would also be expanded, so that requests can be refused if they are considered abusive or malicious, or if responding would “unreasonably interfere” with government operations.
Bill 9 passed second reading, and each section of the bill will next be scrutinized at committee stage.
Gibson said the committee stage will be a chance to correct what she described as misunderstandings and misinformation about the amendments.
“The size of an average FOI is up more than four times. That kind of size and complexity is challenging jurisdictions,” she said. “The intention from the beginning is to modernize this bill, while protecting people’s right to access information.”
Gibson has said the amendments do not change FOI response timelines, allow public bodies to refuse legitimate requests, or introduce any new fees.
