BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
BC government opens the information door a crack
GOVERNMENT MOVES TO ROUTINELY RELEASE SOME INFORMATION, BUT LOTS OF RECORDS REMAIN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
With its new “Open Information – Open Data” policy, the BC government has taken a big step forward on how it releases information to the public. But according to the BC Freedom of information and Privacy Association, there is still a lot of work to be done to change an entrenched government culture of secrecy.
“The policies announced by Premier Clark are more than cosmetic,” said FIPA Executive Director Vincent Gogolek. “However, several important pieces that were expected are missing. Hopefully those will be coming soon.”
First the positive points:
- The policy indicates the government is serious about having the bureaucracy consider how to release information proactively.
- The open data site has a reasonable licence requirement for public use, and no registration requirement.
- FOI requesters have 72 hours minimum exclusive time with records released in response to their requests – three times the minimum time recommended by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
There are some significant negatives however:
- There is no routine release of government contracts or audit reports as recommended by the Commissioner and FIPA. Click Here
- Information on government travel includes amounts, but no indication of where or why a minister was traveling. There is also no routine release of the calendars of Ministers and their senior officials as recommended by the Commissioner. Click Here
- There is no allowance for an FOI requester to request a delay of more than five days before records and released to the public, contrary to the Commissioner’s recommendations. Click Here
“We are pleased to see the government making a serious effort to improve transparency, but the hard part is still to come,” Gogolek said. “The real test is how willing they will be to release information that could be unfavourable or embarrassing.”
Government release: Open data signals new direction for B.C. government Click Here
FIPA News Release: Click Here
FIPA CONTACT: Vincent Gogolek, Executive Director, office 604-739-9788, cell 604-318-0031
GOVERNMENT MOVES TO ROUTINELY RELEASE SOME INFORMATION, BUT LOTS OF RECORDS REMAIN BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
With its new “Open Information – Open Data” policy, the BC government has taken a big step forward on how it releases information to the public. But according to the BC Freedom of information and Privacy Association, there is still a lot of work to be done to change an entrenched government culture of secrecy.
“The policies announced by Premier Clark are more than cosmetic,” said FIPA Executive Director Vincent Gogolek. “However, several important pieces that were expected are missing. Hopefully those will be coming soon.”
First the positive points:
- The policy indicates the government is serious about having the bureaucracy consider how to release information proactively.
- The open data site has a reasonable licence requirement for public use, and no registration requirement.
- FOI requesters have 72 hours minimum exclusive time with records released in response to their requests – three times the minimum time recommended by the Information and Privacy Commissioner.
There are some significant negatives however:
- There is no routine release of government contracts or audit reports as recommended by the Commissioner and FIPA. Click Here
- Information on government travel includes amounts, but no indication of where or why a minister was traveling. There is also no routine release of the calendars of Ministers and their senior officials as recommended by the Commissioner. Click Here
- There is no allowance for an FOI requester to request a delay of more than five days before records and released to the public, contrary to the Commissioner’s recommendations. Click Here
“We are pleased to see the government making a serious effort to improve transparency, but the hard part is still to come,” Gogolek said. “The real test is how willing they will be to release information that could be unfavourable or embarrassing.”
Government release: Open data signals new direction for B.C. government Click Here
FIPA News Release: Click Here
FIPA CONTACT: Vincent Gogolek, Executive Director, office 604-739-9788, cell 604-318-0031