CKPG

By Dione Wearmouth

FOI Legislation

New FOI request legislation met with criticism

Nov 30, 2021 | 2:25 PM

NORTHERN BC- Legislation to implement a $10 fee for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests was passed last week. According to the province, this will strengthen BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPPA) Act to provide better, more inclusive services to people, businesses and public-sector organizations.

Opposition Critic for Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, Todd Stone, says it will create a barrier in accessing public information and should not be an aspect of a thriving democracy.

“Everything about this Freedom of Information legislation is draconian. The fact that the government moved forward with imposing fees for the public to access public information is ridiculous. The fact that the NDP and this legislation have reduced the scope of information that can actually be accessed is unacceptable.”

He adds that the way in which the legislation was passed is an issue as well, as it didn’t have approval from the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

“How they went about doing this was frankly, breathtaking,” Stone continued, “I was the last person standing in this debate. I was literally mid-sentence in a question on Section 46 of a Bill that had another 27 sections that we hadn’t even gotten to yet. The NDP decided to invoke what’s called a closure, which means they shut down the debate and they ram through the rest of the sections without any questions and any debate because they didn’t manage their legislative calendar very well.”

Spruce Kings fall in Langley to Rivermen

14h ago

Sexual Assault and Harassment

Judge to rule on Canada Post employee's sexual assault and harassment case

Dec 13, 2025

Weather Alerts

Freezing rain warning issued for Prince George-area, snowfall warning remains for Williston, Pine Pass

Dec 13, 2025

Shortly after this discussion was held, BC’s Citizens’ Services Minister Lisa Beare signed a Corridor Order to unilaterally impose the fee and a few other regulations. Stone said that because Beare agreed to consult with the Information and Privacy Commissioner and Indigenous groups, she intentionally mislead the legislature.

“The fees themselves are unacceptable, but the process in which the government went about to implement these fees was equally unacceptable,” added Stone.

More than 10,000 FOI requests are made annually. The volume of requests have increased by more than 40% over the last two years.

A spokesperson from the BC Ministry of Citizen’s Services said the changes were needed, citing the sheer volume of requests the province currently received.

“FOIPPA wasn’t working for people anymore, and we’ve made changes to provide people in B.C. with modern, responsive services while also protecting their privacy,” said the spokesperson. “People want timely access to their personal information as well as to healthcare, education tools and the technology that’s making their lives easier.”

The new fee only applies to non-personal FOI requests, as personal requests are still free.