Advocacy group complains about B.C.’s record on FOI requests that come up empty

VANCOUVER – A group that advocates for government transparency has filed a complaint with B.C.’s information commissioner, pointing to a significant increase in cases where the province responds to freedom-of-information requests by claiming it couldn’t find any documents.

The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association suggests the trend is either a reflection of a government that avoids keeping records to skirt the law or a sign the province isn’t releasing all the information it could.

The group used data posted to the government’s website to track cases in which the government determined it could not find any records to satisfy a freedom-of-information request.

The numbers indicate such cases accounted for nearly a quarter of all requests in 2011-2012, compared with less than half a per cent in 2002-2003.

For requests from the news media, that number jumps to 34 per cent, when there were no such cases in 2002-2003.

The group’s executive director, Vincent Gogolek, says he wants the information commission to investigate why there are so many cases where the government claims it doesn’t have any written records to provide.