B.C. government gets an F in freedom of information audit

An organization representing Canada's newspapers says the B.C. government is failing to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests in a timely manner.

"They're basically operating outside of both the spirit and the letter of the law,"saidFredVallance-Jonesa project leader withNewspapers Canada's audit.

The audit was taken before the office of theB.C. privacy commissioner released its ownreport into the provincial government's practice of deleting emails.

The report states: "British Columbia, with its 30-business-day legal standard, received an F for speed of responses and a B for completeness of disclosure."

• REPORT | Newspapers Canada's National Freedom of Information Audit 2015

It'sone of only three provinces in the country to score so low,with an average time between request and fulfillment of32 days. That'stwo days longer than nationalstandard according to Newspapers Canada.

"We run into naturally to-be-expected foot-dragging before things that are considered to be the dirty laundry of the government are allowed out," saidVallance-Jones.

Just last week, B.C.'s privacy commissionerreleased a report that revealed several government workers, including the premier's deputy chief of staff,had deleted emailsraising troubling questions about laws protectingthepublic's right to hold politicians accountable for their actions.

Commitment to openness

British Columbia, with its 30-business-day legal standard, received an F for speed of responses and a B for completeness of disclosure.- Newspapers Canada 2015FOI audit

"You need to have a commitment to openness, a commitment to truetransparencythat comes right from the top of the government, otherwise I suppose it doesn't really matter what the law says," saidVallance-Jones.

Andlaw-breaking can bedifficult to uncoverwhen it comes to freedom of information requests.

"It takes an investigation such as the one we saw from the information commissioner, which was a very technically sophisticated investigation," said Vallance-Jones.

The report intothe B.C. government's deleted emailsrecommended a number of measures to address the situation amongthem,records-management training for all employees as well as the independent oversight of information management rules.

Italso saidthe government needs to introduce sanctions when those requirements are not met.

To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled:Newspapers Canada gives B.C. government a failing grade on F.O.I requests.