Fall 2024 sees three provincial elections in Canada.
The last day of voting is coming up in:
British Columbia on Saturday, October 19th
New Brunswick on Monday, October 21st
Saskatchewan on Monday, October 28th
Nova Scotia on Tuesday, November 26th
Cultures of secrecy, efforts to evade accountability, and a general lack of transparency all erode trust in incumbent governments and public institutions. That said, politicians and candidates know privacy, information management, and government transparency don’t often take center stage (if any) in political campaigns.
That’s where we come in to remind them that the public has strong expectations about these issues.
Want to learn where the parties stand on access and privacy issues? You can help.
The questionnaires below were sent to the political parties who had sitting members in the previous legislature and who are running candidates in the current election. We’ve given them a deadline to respond and will post their responses once received.
You can raise these questions, or your own variation, with candidates in your electoral districts.
We’ve also included email links to each of the parties. Click the link to encourage them to respond to our questionnaire or raise questions of your own.
British Columbia
Details
Saturday, October 19th is the final voting day.
Questionnaire sent Monday, October 7th.
Response deadline Wednesday, October 16th.
Question 1 – Potential of law reform
If elected to form government, will you reform laws and improve:
records management in public bodies?
access to information from public bodies?
the ability for people to control and protect their personal information collected used and retained by public bodies and private organizations?
Question 2 – Law reform in action
How will you act on reforms in these areas?
Question 3 – Recordkeeping of information assets
Records need to be both created and managed effectively. Recordkeeping promotes effective public governance and establishes a common source of reference for public employees, it is a prerequisite to both evidence-based and data-driven decision-making.
If elected to form Government, what steps will you take to:
Identify government’s needs related to recordkeeping and areas for potential improvement?
Improve the requirement for public bodies to create and act on records?
Increase proactive release of information under the control of public bodies?
Improve responses to requests for information under the control of public bodies?
Question 4 – BC Code of Practice verification
Please provide a signed version of your party’s Political Campaign Activity Code of Practice.
Every six years Parliamentary Committees are appointed to review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection Act. The next Parliament will likely preside over and participate in the: Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; and the Special Committee to Review the Personal Information Protection Act.
Has the current government acted appropriately to implement the recommendations from:
If elected, what steps will your government take to implement the recommendations of these Special Committees that identify areas of consensus amongst political parties?
Question 7 – Information Management Act issues
The triple delete scandal impacted both the public and Government. Monitoring indicates that the Information Management Act (IMA), while touted as a solution, has done little to improve information management in core government or the broader public sector. Past OIPC Commissioner McEvoy indicated that the IMA is not fit for ensuring the government’s compliance with the duty to document because the heads of government bodies are primarily responsible for ensuring compliance with the duty under that Act without oversight. The Commissioner also stated that the lack of authority of his office to provide independent oversight to the “vitally important duty to document” is “a significant shortcoming” of FIPPA.
What steps will you take to prevent instances like the triple delete scandal from reoccurring while improving independent oversight of a public body’s duty to create and manage records and information to document activities and decisions?
Question 8 – Addressing UBCIC calls to action.
The Union of BC Indian Chiefs UBCIC has recently released a message to the Federal Government seeking Immediate, Concrete Action to Remove First Nations’ Barriers to Accessing Information. In it they call for the Federal Government to uphold Canada’s legal obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA), with an emphasis on the information rights of Indigenous peoples. The call directed to the federal Government highlights issues equally relevant at the provincial level.
If elected, what steps will your government take to respond to the calls for action by the UBCIC?
Question 9 – Transparency in the BC Legislature
Following the wood splitter speaker scandal in 2019, the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ombudsperson, and the Merit Commissioner wrote a joint letter calling for increased transparency and accountability in the legislature that was agreed to be acted upon by all parties of the Legislative Assembly Management Committee. There was no subsequent announcement of action taken.
What steps does your party support to increase transparency in the legislative assembly?
If elected, how will you act on all party agreements to address calls from independent offices for reform surrounding transparency in the legislature?
Question 10 – FOIPPA issues
The issues surrounding updates implemented by this Government to theFreedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act are many as detailed in the FIPA backgrounder. The public has consistently seen reduced trust in public bodies, and this is partially attributed to issues around lack of transparency. The imposition of a 10-dollar application fee to ask the government for information has set a dangerous president and barrier. This Transparency Tax has created a barrier for access to information across British Columbia. The unregulated use of fees means some public bodies routinely use the fee to avoid scrutiny while others struggle to implement it. The analysis of the information means the number of requests is dropping, costs are going up and less information is being released on request. People and public bodies are literally paying more and receiving less.
If elected, what will your government do to ensure better access to the information under the control of public bodies on request?
Click the link to encourage them to respond by the deadline.
If elected to form government, will you reform laws and improve:
records management in public bodies?
access to information from public bodies?
the ability for people to control and protect their personal information collected used and retained by public bodies and private organizations?
Question 2 – Law reform in action
How will you act on reforms in these areas?
Question 3 – Recordkeeping of information assets
Records need to be both created and managed effectively. Recordkeeping promotes effective public governance and establishes a common source of reference for public employees, it is a prerequisite to both evidence-based and data-driven decision-making.
If elected to form Government, what steps will you take to:
Identify government’s needs related to recordkeeping and areas for potential improvement?
Improve the requirement for public bodies to create and act on records?
Increase proactive release of information under the control of public bodies?
Improve responses to requests for information under the control of public bodies?
Question 4 – Response to potential concerns
In recent public discourse, a Globe and Mail headlines proclaims, “New Brunswick’s access regime among the most restrictive in Canada, Globe audit finds”. Scholarly articles indicate that “Despite the early promise of New Brunswick’s groundbreaking right to information legislation, successive governments have undermined its purpose and value.” FIPAs analysis of legislation across Canada indicates that there is only one area that New Brunswick is leading in (Individual Access & Correction).
Has the current government acted appropriately in the administration of the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act?
If elected, what will your government do to ensure better access to the information under the control of public bodies on request?
Background
New Brunswick’s access regime among the most restrictive in Canada, Globe audit finds
Cannon, A. . (2021). The Right to Government Information in New Brunswick and its Use by the Scholarly Community. Journal of New Brunswick Studies Revue d’études Sur Le Nouveau-Brunswick, 13(2), 51–76. Retrieved from https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/JNBS/article/view/32612
DRAFT 20240920 Leading and Trailing Language.pdf
Click the link to encourage them to respond by the deadline.
If elected to form government, will you reform laws and improve:
records management in public bodies?
access to information from public bodies?
the ability for people to control and protect their personal information collected used and retained by public bodies and private organizations?
Question 2 – Law reform in action
How will you act on reforms in these areas?
Question 3 – Recordkeeping of information assets
Records need to be both created and managed effectively. Recordkeeping promotes effective public governance and establishes a common source of reference for public employees, it is a prerequisite to both evidence-based and data-driven decision-making.
If elected to form Government, what steps will you take to:
Identify government’s needs related to recordkeeping and areas for potential improvement?
Improve the requirement for public bodies to create and act on records?
Increase proactive release of information under the control of public bodies?
Improve responses to requests for information under the control of public bodies?
Question 4 – Government compliance
Ministries in the Saskatchewan Government have previously declined to comply with the decisions of the Information Commissioner appointed by the Legislative Assembly. The public broadly expects public bodies to act on the laws that are passed and recommendations that they receive from independent oversight bodies like the Ombudsperson, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, Representative for Children and Youth, and Auditor General.
If elected, what steps will you take to ensure Government and Ministers act on the recommendations of duly appointed independent offices of the legislative assembly?
If elected to form government, will you reform laws and improve:
records management in public bodies?
access to information from public bodies?
the ability for people to control and protect their personal information collected used and retained by public bodies and private organizations?
Question 2 – Law reform in action
How will you act on reforms in these areas?
Question 3 – Recordkeeping of information assets
Records need to be both created and managed effectively. Recordkeeping promotes effective public governance and establishes a common source of reference for public employees, it is a prerequisite to both evidence-based and data-driven decision-making.
If elected to form Government, what steps will you take to:
Identify government’s needs related to recordkeeping and areas for potential improvement?
Improve the requirement for public bodies to create and act on records?
Increase proactive release of information under the control of public bodies?
Improve responses to requests for information under the control of public bodies?
Question 4 – Response to potential concerns (to be finalized)
The Nova Scotian Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and related legislation has come under fire from the appointed independent commissioner and the public. It is also going through a review process. FIPAs analysis of legislation across Canada indicates that there is only one area that Nova Scotia is leading in (Degree of Practicality). If elected:
What will your government do to ensure better access to the information under the control of public bodies on request or proactively?
What steps will you take to ensure Government and Ministers act on the recommendations of duly appointed independent offices of the legislative assembly and legislative review processes?
Background
Community Services Department cited again over access to information
There are lots of ways to work with us or act as an Academic Advisor. We are always open to making our research results better so be sure to provide any feedback and constructive criticism regarding this publication to FIPA at fipa.bc.ca .
