WATCH: BC Greens warn Bill 9 'last nails in the coffin' for access to information

VICTORIA — The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act passed second reading in the wee hours of Thursday by a vote of 48-42 following a failed hoist motion.

The BC Greens were joined by the BC Conservatives and one independent MLA in opposition.

MLA Rob Botterell — who helped develop the FOI Act in 1992 — has been among the most vocal critics of the BC NDP's new legislation. In an interview with Sitka Media, he warned that it could be "the last nails in the coffin of access to information in this province."

"Bill 9 has to aspects to it," he explained. "One aspect is to make it easier for British Columbians to access their own personal information — that's great, that's not problematic. The other part is a series of provisions that make processing an FOI request dependent on whether it interferes with the operations of government or is administratively convenient."

Botterell argued that this "defeats the whole purpose of FOI" because ministries and public bodies are "very very busy these days," thus any request could be deemed to have an operational impact.

"I'm very concerned that these are really the last nails in the coffin of access to information in this province," he lamented. "It should be that we're actually trying to increase access — and fundamental rights, key aspects of a democracy like freedom of information shouldn't be subject to administrative convenience."

When asked why he thinks the BC NDP have been so adamant on changing the FOI laws, Botterell said, "the justification is real simple; wouldn't it be administratively convenient not to have to process these requests or to process them over a long period of time?"

"It really takes us back to a circumstance where the information you get — whether you're a journalist or member of the public — depends on who you are and why you want the information," he added. "Access delayed is access denied. There’s no point having information available to you on a major gov’t decision two years after it’s made."

Under the current law, public bodies must answer requests within 30 days, though extensions can be granted in certain circumstances. The new legislation would, among other things, give the Privacy Commissioner more power to allow entities to ignore requests deemed to be an administrative burden, though that term is left up to interpretation.

Before becoming a law, Bill 9 must still go through the committee and report stage, as well as third reading. Botterell and his colleagues in opposition have vowed to keep fighting.