Election season in British Columbia means access to information and privacy are on the ballot. The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) commissioned IPSOS, a leading independent market research company, to poll public opinion on information management in public bodies.
The results show there is strong agreement around what is expected of public bodies with respect to accountability and governance, records management, and accessibility and fees. It also shows that when those expectations aren’t met, it is important to consider several changes.
Generally, the polling shows that there is widespread, popular support for initiatives to enhance open government and stewardship of information resources.
FIPA President Mike Larsen said “the public has clear expectations around what needs to be done and what the solutions are if those expectations aren’t met. We hope in combination with research, this polling provides a clear identification of the expectations around behavior of public bodies and solutions if they aren’t acting appropriately.”
Larsen adds, “Ongoing research and public body monitoring show a clear gap between what is being done and what should or could be done. Even with some positive examples, most public bodies need to do a better job of managing their information resources. From FIPA’s perspective, we all lose when the government can’t manage their information to make data-driven decisions. “
“FIPA ultimately hopes candidates, politicians, and bureaucrats choose to make public bodies better at serving the public interest rather than worse.”
Highlights of the results are posted below with detailed results below that.
These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 12 and 16, 2024, on behalf of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA). For this survey, a sample of 800 British Columbians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the British Columbian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 4.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all British Columbians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
IPSOS recognizes that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are Central to Good Research.
There is broad agreement (75% or more) with all expectations expressed around accountability and governance, records management and accessibility and fees. More than 50% of respondents strongly agree that they expect:
Common problems encountered with some public bodies indicate they:
To address these shortfalls the public generally thinks it is important to make some prospective changes. The following are seen as important.
FIPA also runs a question that tracks general knowledge over time. We last ran the questions in 2022 and since that time we have seen an increase in the public’s awareness.
Background:
IPSOS posed the following questions to 800 British Columbians on behalf of FIPA, and received the following responses:
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
1.1 I expect public bodies to comply with and implement laws passed by the legislative assembly
Top 2 Box (Net) 83% Strongly agree 55% Somewhat agree 28%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 10% Somewhat disagree 8% Strongly disagree 2%
Don’t know 7%
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1.2 I expect public bodies to act on the 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
Top 2 Box (Net) 82% Strongly agree 45% Somewhat agree 37%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 6% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 10%
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1.3 I expect a public body should create and maintain full and accurate records necessary for the efficient and effective administration of activities
Top 2 Box (Net) 86% Strongly agree 56% Somewhat agree 30%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 6% Somewhat disagree 5% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 8%
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1.4 I expect that when a public body has the option to exercise its discretion in releasing information it will consider the public interest in disclosure
Top 2 Box (Net) 78% Strongly agree 41% Somewhat agree 37%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 13% Somewhat disagree 10% Strongly disagree 3%
Don’t know 9%
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1.5 I expect all political parties and their candidates to collect, protect and respect my personal information by complying with provincial privacy laws.
Top 2 Box (Net) 86% Strongly agree 6% Somewhat agree 19%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 6% Strongly disagree 2%
Don’t know 6%
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
2.1 I expect public bodies to maintain accurate and complete records of their activities
Top 2 Box (Net) 88% Strongly agree 65% Somewhat agree 23%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 7% Somewhat disagree 5% Strongly disagree 2%
Don’t know 5%
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2.2 I expect public bodies to be able to readily find and retrieve records
Top 2 Box (Net) 84% Strongly agree 57% Somewhat agree 27%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 9% Somewhat disagree 8% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 6%
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2.3 I expect public bodies to align records management systems to international standards
Top 2 Box (Net) 81% Strongly agree 46% Somewhat agree 35%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 10% Somewhat disagree 8% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 10%
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2.4 I expect public bodies to have an organization-specific set of policies and procedures about records management and open government
Top 2 Box (Net) 86% Strongly agree 57% Somewhat agree 29%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 7% Somewhat disagree 6% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 7%
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2.5 I expect public bodies to maintain and regularly review organization-specific file classification plans that are used to organize records
Top 2 Box (Net) 83% Strongly agree 49% Somewhat agree 33%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 5% Strongly disagree 2%
Don’t know 10%
To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
3.1 I expect public bodies to identify and regularly review types of documents and data that can released without request
Top 2 Box (Net) 79% Strongly agree 44% Somewhat agree 35%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 10% Somewhat disagree 7% Strongly disagree 3%
Don’t know 11%
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3.2 I expect public bodies to respond to freedom of information requests within the 30-business day statutory timelines unless a specific, articulable, and legitimate reason can be given to extend the timeline otherwise
Top 2 Box (Net) 83% Strongly agree 57% Somewhat agree 32%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 7% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 9%
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3.3 I expect public bodies to respect that fees are a barrier to access and not charge the optional $10 application fee
Top 2 Box (Net) 75% Strongly agree 43% Somewhat agree 32%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 15% Somewhat disagree 10% Strongly disagree 4%
Don’t know 10%
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3.4 I expect public bodies to ensure the use of fees is principled and restricted to evidence-based calculations for processing large and complex requests, rather than on arbitrary estimates
Top 2 Box (Net) 80% Strongly agree 48% Somewhat agree 21%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 7% Strongly disagree 1%
Don’t know 13%
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3.5 I expect public bodies to ensure that when fees are used, the applicant is paying for a large and complex request rather than poor records management on the part of the public body
Top 2 Box (Net) 82% Strongly agree 5% Somewhat agree 27%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Somewhat disagree 6% Strongly disagree 2%
Don’t know 10%
Recent research shows some public bodies are likely:
To ensure the highest standards of public sector recordkeeping are met and the public interest is considered, how important do you think it is to make the following prospective changes:
4.1 Changing organizational cultures towards accepting public interest disclosure and improving records management practice
Top 2 Box (Net) 82% Very important 47% Somewhat important 35%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 10% Not Very important 8% Not Important at all 2%
Don’t know 8%
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4.2 New regulations that ensure records management systems meet international standards
Top 2 Box (Net) 83% Very important 50% Somewhat important 33%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 9% Not Very important 7% Not Important at all 2%
Don’t know 8%
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4.3 Increasing resource allocation to freedom of information and records management functions in public bodies to reduce administrative burden and develop in-house expertise
Top 2 Box (Net) 80% Very important 43% Somewhat important 37%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 10% Not Very important 9% Not Important at all 2%
Don’t know 10%
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4.4 Legislation establishing an office to hold public bodies accountable for recordkeeping, akin to an auditor for records
Top 2 Box (Net) 86% Very important 53% Somewhat important 33%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Not Very important 7% Not Important at all 1%
Don’t know 7%
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4.5 Legislation to introduce administrative monetary penalties for public bodies that unjustifiably delay processing freedom of information requests and have unjustifiable recordkeeping failures
Top 2 Box (Net) 83% Very important 52% Somewhat important 32%
Bottom 2 Box (Net) 8% Not Very important 7% Not Important at all 1%
Don’t know 8%
Choose the statements that best reflect your knowledge of your access to information privacy rights.
I am aware of BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
2024 Aware 64% | 2022 Aware 47%
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I am aware of BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner
2024 Aware 37% | 2022 Aware 31%
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I am aware that I can request access to my personal information and general information from public bodies
2024 Aware 50% | 2022 Aware 47%
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I am aware of the right to file a complaint relating to the handling of my personal information
2024 Aware 43% | 2022 Aware 37%
These responses, as well as breakdowns by gender, education, age group, region, income, and household composition, can be downloaded here.