Ignoring Freedom of Information

If the Campbell government treated our privacy the same way it treats documents relating to public policy, you would never have to worry about the sale of computer tapes or hacking into government computers. On March 15, 2006, the Sierra Legal Defense Fund revealed that the Campbell government wants to charge it $172,947.50 for information on BC's top corporate polluters. Until 2001 the government published that list twice a year. Commentators have wondered out loud whether the secrecy could be because of the connection between that list and the list of the biggest contributors to Gordon Campbell's party.

Despite being the largest initiator of Freedom of Information requests while they were in opposition, since forming government, the Campbell Liberals have pursued a doctrine of secrecy. In 2004 it was revealed that the government regularly tracks requests from advocates, reporters and other trouble makers. Their requests are not released until approved by the minister's office.

On July 18, 2005, I requested the release of 7 documents that were specifically mentioned in a document titled "Health Service Re-Design Plan", published by the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. On August 11th I followed with a fax advising that the time limits for a response were soon to expire. In September I was told they never received my original request, so I had to start from the beginning, as did the time limits. In late October I was told that a portion of my request involved another public body, that further extended the time limits. In November I was told that my request could not be processed within the normal 30 day time limit, hence in accordance with Section 10 of the Act the time limit would be extended by 30 days. On December 8th I received from Providence Health Care two of the seven documents that I requested, but on December 22nd I received a letter from Vancouver Coastal Health Authority saying that the remaining documents would not be released because they involved "proposed plans" and the documents were "still deemed to be in draft form". That rejection cited Section 13 and 17 of the Act for its authority; keep in mind that the "draft" documents were specifically referenced in the Health Redesign Plan published by the Authority. I appealed that rejection to the office of the Commissioner on January 4th, and on March 10, 2006, 8 months after my quest began, I finally received the remaining documents.

Three of the documents I received contain notes at the bottom of most pages which say: "CONFIDENTIAL: This document consists exclusively of advice prepared for VCHA's Internal use Not Publishable for Disclosure under Sec. 17 FOIPP". It appears that the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority is flagrantly violating both the spirit and the letter of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act by preparing documents which it claims are exempt from the Act. On October 12, 1999, Freedom of Information Commissioner David Loukidelis ruled in Order 324 in a case involving UBC that Section 4(2) "requires public bodies to review each record in detail - essentially line by line - and to decide which parts "can reasonably be severed" and withheld. This allows the remainder of the record to be disclosed as required by s. 4(2). This is obviously not a counsel of perfection. Section 4(2) requires severance to be carried out only where it can "reasonably" be done. But in the vast majority of cases where a record contains both protected and unprotected information, it will be possible to sever it, in accordance with s. 4(2), and release the unprotected portions of that record." In other words, a public body cannot declare blanket exemption of any document under Section 17 without considering its obligation to sever and make public those sections which can reasonably be released. In my case, after 8 months of delay, it turned out that all the documents could be released in full.

There is nothing in the documents that I obtained that is obviously newsworthy. A separate article on the finer points contained in those documents will follow, but what is worthy of public attention is the effort the government and its agents will go to in order to thwart public access to government policy and procedures. It would be in the public interest to post many of these documents on government websites in order to obtain the widest possible consultation and advice (I will post the documents I obtained, if the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority fails to take my advice to do so themselves). In the meantime, I have submitted another freedom of information request to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. This time I've asked them for all emails, memorandums and other documents regarding instructions to staff with respect to the inclusion of the words "Not Publishable for Disclosure under Sec. 17 FOIPP" on any business case or other document that is prepared for VCHA's internal use. Those words didn't appear on the documents I received by accident, but I won't be surprised if the usual string of excuses are used to delay answering for well past the time limits specified in the Act. The Campbell government appears to think the public has no right to know what it is doing.