BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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2026 Bill 9 Weakens Access in BC
Victoria 2026.02.26 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is raising serious concerns about Bill 9, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026, warning that it weakens access rights at a time when government has failed to meaningfully implement its own recordkeeping law, and that it fails to address needed reforms to the Act.
FIPA will be conducting a more detailed review as the Bill moves forward. On initial analysis Bill 9 narrows access to records by:
- Replacing the duty to respond “without delay” with “without unreasonable delay.”
- Granting the heads of public bodies the authority to decide, in their opinion, what constitutes “enough detail” and “reasonable amount of time” when determining whether a request is valid.
- Expanding grounds to disregard requests as “abusive,” or “malicious,” and now allow for requests to be disregarded if they would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Government of British Columbia – a departure from the usual focus on individual public bodies with potentially sweeping implications.
- Expanding ministerial powers over centralized data-sharing through a new “connected services provider.”
The government has framed the bill as a modernization effort to improve digital service delivery. However, FIPA notes that the real source of FOI delays lies upstream — in inconsistent record creation, classification, retention, and digitization practices across ministries.
The Information Management Act (2015) requires government bodies to maintain adequate records of decisions and to follow approved information schedules. Yet there has been no public, comprehensive accounting of whether those obligations have been consistently implemented.
“Access delays are often a symptom of recordkeeping failures,” said FIPA Executive Director Jason Woywada. “You cannot fix systemic information management problems by weakening public access rights.”
There are some bright points. FIPA supports the elements of Bill 9 that extend the ability of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to enter into collaboration and information sharing arrangements with other regulators across Canada. We are also encouraged that the OIPC has taken the position that the new Connected Services provisions include privacy protective provisions.
There are also some glaring absences. Bill 9 is deeply flawed because of what it does not include. The bill ignores the work of the last Special Legislative Committee that reviewed the FIPPA. The Committee’s 2022 report, entitled FIPPA for the Future, listed 34 recommendations “to improve and modernize access to information and privacy rules in British Columbia’s public sector”. Bill 9 represents a failure to act on these recommendations, notably by:
- Failing to enshrine in FIPPA a duty to document that requires all public bodies to create and manage detailed records of decisions and actions.
- Failing to “Extend freedom of information provisions to the administrative functions of the Legislative Assembly”.
- Failing to reflect a “comprehensive review of the FIPPA to address the evolving relationship with Indigenous governing bodies as it pertains to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”
“This is worse than a missed opportunity”, said FIPA President Mike Larsen. “It reflects a pattern of successive governments receiving clear advice on gaps in the Act – and then completely disregarding this guidance.”
FIPA is calling for:
- An independent audit and oversight of the implementation of the Information Management Act.
- More detailed public reporting on information schedules, digitization progress, and compliance with record-creation duties.
- Better support for FOI workers to help applicants compose effective requests
- Retention of the statutory duty to respond “without delay.”
- Clear limits and safeguards around centralized data-sharing authorities.
- Clarification of the intent of adding ‘the government of British Columbia”, as a whole, to section 43 of the Act.
Improving efficiency and modernizing access and privacy provisions are laudable goals, but only if they are backed by strong information management and access practices.
If modernization is to build trust in public institutions, it must enhance transparency and privacy protections — not weaken accountability in exchange for modest bureaucratic convenience.
-30-
For more information or interviews with FIPA President Mike Larsen, contact the FIPA office at: 604-739-9788 mike @ fipa.bc.ca
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Victoria 2026.02.26 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is raising serious concerns about Bill 9, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026, warning that it weakens access rights at a time when government has failed to meaningfully implement its own recordkeeping law, and that it fails to address needed reforms to the Act.
FIPA will be conducting a more detailed review as the Bill moves forward. On initial analysis Bill 9 narrows access to records by:
- Replacing the duty to respond “without delay” with “without unreasonable delay.”
- Granting the heads of public bodies the authority to decide, in their opinion, what constitutes “enough detail” and “reasonable amount of time” when determining whether a request is valid.
- Expanding grounds to disregard requests as “abusive,” or “malicious,” and now allow for requests to be disregarded if they would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the Government of British Columbia – a departure from the usual focus on individual public bodies with potentially sweeping implications.
- Expanding ministerial powers over centralized data-sharing through a new “connected services provider.”
The government has framed the bill as a modernization effort to improve digital service delivery. However, FIPA notes that the real source of FOI delays lies upstream — in inconsistent record creation, classification, retention, and digitization practices across ministries.
The Information Management Act (2015) requires government bodies to maintain adequate records of decisions and to follow approved information schedules. Yet there has been no public, comprehensive accounting of whether those obligations have been consistently implemented.
“Access delays are often a symptom of recordkeeping failures,” said FIPA Executive Director Jason Woywada. “You cannot fix systemic information management problems by weakening public access rights.”
There are some bright points. FIPA supports the elements of Bill 9 that extend the ability of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to enter into collaboration and information sharing arrangements with other regulators across Canada. We are also encouraged that the OIPC has taken the position that the new Connected Services provisions include privacy protective provisions.
There are also some glaring absences. Bill 9 is deeply flawed because of what it does not include. The bill ignores the work of the last Special Legislative Committee that reviewed the FIPPA. The Committee’s 2022 report, entitled FIPPA for the Future, listed 34 recommendations “to improve and modernize access to information and privacy rules in British Columbia’s public sector”. Bill 9 represents a failure to act on these recommendations, notably by:
- Failing to enshrine in FIPPA a duty to document that requires all public bodies to create and manage detailed records of decisions and actions.
- Failing to “Extend freedom of information provisions to the administrative functions of the Legislative Assembly”.
- Failing to reflect a “comprehensive review of the FIPPA to address the evolving relationship with Indigenous governing bodies as it pertains to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.”
“This is worse than a missed opportunity”, said FIPA President Mike Larsen. “It reflects a pattern of successive governments receiving clear advice on gaps in the Act – and then completely disregarding this guidance.”
FIPA is calling for:
- An independent audit and oversight of the implementation of the Information Management Act.
- More detailed public reporting on information schedules, digitization progress, and compliance with record-creation duties.
- Better support for FOI workers to help applicants compose effective requests
- Retention of the statutory duty to respond “without delay.”
- Clear limits and safeguards around centralized data-sharing authorities.
- Clarification of the intent of adding ‘the government of British Columbia”, as a whole, to section 43 of the Act.
Improving efficiency and modernizing access and privacy provisions are laudable goals, but only if they are backed by strong information management and access practices.
If modernization is to build trust in public institutions, it must enhance transparency and privacy protections — not weaken accountability in exchange for modest bureaucratic convenience.
-30-
For more information or interviews with FIPA President Mike Larsen, contact the FIPA office at: 604-739-9788 mike @ fipa.bc.ca
Tags