The Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information Protection of Privacy Act has concluded its open consultations and began its deliberations. It is expected to release its final report by June 15th 2022.
We are grateful for the work of the Committee to review the Freedom of Information Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and heartened to see submissions from a broad cross-section of civil society. It is a testament to a functioning democratic system to see all parties of the Legislative Assembly work together to reach consensus on recommendations that advance access to information and privacy protections for British Columbians through the legislature.
This open consultative process stands in stark contrast to the approach that the BC Government recently took to amend the FIPPA with BIll 22. Although formed on June 16th 2021 the Committee’s work was delayed until February 14th 2022 in large part because of the Government amendments. Theses amendments seriously impacted and truncated the work of the committee. As outlined in our written submission:
“Bill 22 undermined the work of the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the “Committee”) by introducing legislative changes while the Committee was to conduct open consultations and make recommendations to the existing legislation. Pursuant to s. 80 of the FIPPA, a special committee must review and report on the Act at least every 6 years. This report usually includes recommended amendments to the Act. By amending the legislation a few months before the formation of the Committee, the Minister disregarded the role and the work of the Committee and the democratic purpose it serves.”
We look forward to reviewing and considering the recommendations the committee makes once released.
