There’s No Fair in F-O-I
It has been an exercise in frustration for me to obtain documents from a provincial government Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
“So what,” you may say, “don’t bore me with silly reporter problems.” I hear ya, but bear with me.
When reporters file FOI requests to government agencies they are looking to unveil the truth behind political speak or to find out what goes on behind closed doors in the corridors of power. That should matter to citizens who don’t have the time or energy to sift through reams of convoluted documents, so count on reporters to do it for them.
For government, journalists are like the pesky younger siblings who accompany an older sibling on a date and then blab about what happened.
The information we get back from FOIs can change how the public sees an issue or explain the way something is done, or it can be totally boring – depending on the “date” so to speak.
Not to get all dramatic, but freedom of information – transparency – is truly at the heart of democracy. Without it we are no better than all those isms we love to hate – communism, totalitarianism, you get the idea.
My FOI request to the Ministry of Natural Gas Development was made in April.
BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act states “the public has a right of access to all records in the custody or under the control of public bodies,” and responses must be returned, with some exceptions, within 30 days.
Frustrated by constant delays, in mid-August I contacted the provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – it’s like the parent the younger sibling goes to when she wants support in a sibling rivalry. The office intervened and my FOI documents arrived within a week – though there are 20 redacted sections.
Don’t get me wrong I expected to wait. But I did not expect to wait more than four months or to have to tattle to get the information.
And my case is not unique. A 2015 National Freedom of Information Audit by Newspapers Canada found 69 per cent of FOIs in British Columbia took more than 30 days to complete.
Why should you care?
Because reporters, who act as your eyes and ears, should not have to go to such lengths to look behind the curtain in a democracy – it makes one wonder what they have to hide.
Note: some of the pages of the FOI The Squamish Chief received are embedded above.
