B.C.'s Freedom of Information Legacy at Risk with Bill 9 Introduction
In 1991, Rob Botterell led the team that developed British Columbia's groundbreaking Freedom of Information legislation for Mike Harcourt's NDP government. The following year, all parties in the legislature voted unanimously to pass what was then considered the most open FOI legislation in Canada, earning praise as "the best in North America" and enabling significant journalistic work.
The Erosion of Transparency
Since those early days of transparency leadership, Botterell argues the system has been gradually dismantled piece by piece. Now, with the recent introduction of Bill 9, the current B.C. NDP government risks dealing what he describes as a further blow to public access to information.
"Now, freedom of information risks becoming freedom from information," writes Botterell, who currently serves as an MLA after careers as a public servant and lawyer.
Key Concerns with Bill 9
The proposed legislation contains several provisions that critics argue will significantly weaken public access to government information:
- Making it easier to delay or avoid responding to requests within the legislated 30-day timeline
- Broadening the government's ability to ignore requests deemed to unreasonably interfere with operations
- Creating a system where access may hinge on administrative convenience or whether information might embarrass the government
- Failing to distinguish between general FOI requests from journalists or legislators and personal record requests from individuals
Botterell expresses particular disappointment that Michael Harvey, the information and privacy commissioner, has endorsed Bill 9. "The legislated mandate of the information and privacy commissioner is to ensure, not abandon, our legal right to access to information within 30 days," he notes.
Broader Implications for Accountability
The concerns extend beyond the specific provisions of Bill 9 to broader patterns of governance under Premier David Eby's administration. Botterell observes that legislative oversight is increasingly viewed as a nuisance to the government's agenda, replaced by closed-door Cabinet decision-making.
"Holding the government to account is becoming harder as long-standing norms of accountability fracture," he writes, noting that B.C. is not immune to this trend.
The legislation's drafting approach shifts key decisions out of public view and into regulation, effectively shielding them from scrutiny by elected officials, media, and the public. This represents a significant departure from the transparency principles that once made B.C.'s FOI system a model for other jurisdictions.
As a retired public servant, lawyer, and current MLA with extensive experience in how FOI legislation is interpreted and applied, Botterell concludes that Bill 9 contains provisions that constitute "an affront to access to information in B.C." The proposed changes threaten to undermine the very transparency framework that was once the province's proudest achievement in government accountability.
