NEWS RELEASE
JANUARY 19, 2017
BC government claims it has no records related to Carney speech about Vancouver real estate market
FIPA asks Information Commissioner to investigate
Yet another incredible ‘no responsive records’ response to a FIPA FOI request
FIPA has filed a complaint with the Acting BC Information and Privacy Commissioner after the BC Ministry of Finance claimed it has no documents whatsoever related to a major speech in 2011 at the Vancouver Board of Trade by then-Bank of Canada head Mark Carney.
The speech dealt with Vancouver real estate and foreign investors. At one point Carney stated that Asian investors seeking diversification and hard assets have “become a familiar phenomenon in this city.” He went on to describe the Vancouver market as “…taking on characteristics of financial asset markets.”
FIPA’s FOI request to the BC Ministry of Finance was for:
Copies of all correspondence including but not limited to emails, phone records, BBM messages etc. as well as all briefing notes, analysis and background documents prepared by or forwarded to the Ministry related to a speech given by then Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney to the Vancouver Board of Trade in June 2011 regarding the housing market in Canada.
Of course this is not the first time that a FOI request to the BC government has come up with nothing where it would be reasonable to expect extensive documentation.
In the wake of the triple delete scandal and recommendations from the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner, FIPA and many others, a Special Legislative Committee recommended the creation of a legislative “duty to document” to ensure that government records are created and maintained. The BC government has so far failed to bring in any of the Committee’s recommendations.
An Ipsos poll commissioned by FIPA last year showed that 78% of British Columbians believe it is very important that government implement a duty to document.
See our press release here for more information.