ATI and FOI Access to Information and Freedom of Information A British Columbia Example Presented by Angie Bain, UBCIC Research October 2014

Rights of Access Under ATI/FOI (BC) Freedom of Information Right of Access (ATI Act Canada) 4. (1) Subject to this Act, but notwithstanding any other Act of Parliament, every person who is (a) a Canadian citizen, or (b) a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, has a right to and shall, on request, be given access to any record under the control of a government institution. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (BC) 2 (1) The purposes of this Act are to make public bodies more accountable to the public and to protect personal privacy by (a) giving the public a right of access to records, (b) giving individuals a right of access to, and a right to request correction of, personal information about themselves, (c) specifying limited exceptions to the rights of access, (d) preventing the unauthorized collection, use or disclosure of personal information by public bodies, and (e) providing for an independent review of decisions made under this Act.

Right to Know Principles Access to information is a right of everyone. Access is the rule—secrecy is the exception! The right applies to all public bodies. Making requests should be simple, speedy, and free. Officials have a duty to assist requesters. Refusals must be justified. The public interest takes precedence over secrecy. Everyone has the right to appeal an adverse decision. Public bodies should pro-actively publish core information. The right should be guaranteed by an independent body. ( See also

Issues with Access Outdated and uneven laws Access negotiated vs. facilitated Analysts interpretation of law Time Cost Lack of knowledge/staff turnover Lack of transparency

UBCIC’s “Big Four” Issues

Excessive Redactions Excessive in the interpretation Discretionary Inconsistent Unjustifiable Unclear Extensive Sloppy

Out of Scope/Non Responsive June 2012 submitted FOI Request August 2012 received response package Approximately 400 pages marked “Out of Scope” with no statute section number cited (i.e. No valid reason given) UBCIC contested this and we received about 370 docs without redactions back, and about 30 documents citing sections of the statute. The redactions of the 30 pages was deemed reasonable by the UBCIC Researcher.

Personal Privacy

Legal Advice – Section 14 File requested in 2009, informed file unavailable File requested again in 2012, informed file unavailable Researcher followed up, informed file went for legal review Researcher requested regional version of the file, informed FOI required Researcher informed HQ version of file required FOI FOI submitted and response received with excessive use of “Section 14” Mandate expired. Follow up on hold

Comparison of Provincial FOI Responses 2011 Cross Country Access Request ctOGVjOGVmNTZkYWYw/edit?hl=en&pli=1 ctOGVjOGVmNTZkYWYw/edit?hl=en&pli=1 49 pages re: 2011 cross country access request

Excessive Redactions Don’t accept excessive redactions Seek clarity on redactions that don’t cite sections of the statute Challenge anything you don’t agree with Communicate with access analysts and ATI staff throughout the process Follow up on your requests by asking for information on the processing of the file Out of Scope Be clear on the wording of your request Look to package responses (if possible) for examples Educate yourself on advocacy work in this area and follow provincial access sites (links on next two slides) Challenge excessive use of this non- legislated response ATI/FOI Tips

Provincial FOI Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC Manitoba Ombudsman – Access and Privacy Division Office of the Access to Information and Privacy Commissioner – New Brunswick Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner – Newfoundland & Labrador The Nova Scotia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Review Office Department of Justice – Northwest Territories – Access and Privacy Office

Provincial FOI Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner – PEI Commission d’accès à l’information – Quebec Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner Yukon Information and Privacy Commissioner

Personal Privacy Seek clarification if reason seems unclear Appeal if you feel information should have been released Find ways to get information in other formats Consider rewording your request Challenge exclusion of publically available documents Legal Advice Do not accept excessive redactions due to legal advice Follow up with request about your file Consider submitting requests to other departments Separate complex elements and submit multiple requests Modify your request and resubmit (possibly to another analyst) ATI/FOI Tips

Other Links – Until April 1998 there was a site that published responses on the Coordination of Access to Information Requests System database. This is a good place to go to get examples of wording of requests and an understanding of the kind of information available All government bodies and summary of holdings. Helps focus your request with right primary department and understand what info may be available. *Note: Not all federal bodies are on this list. Not all were subject to the legislative act.