VICTORIA - Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Andrew Wilkinson has issued the following statement regarding the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s report, “A Step Backwards: Report Card on Government’s Access to Information Responses.”

“I want to thank the information and privacy commissioner for her report and recommendations. I would also like to thank ministry staff for the extra effort they put in collaborating with the commissioner’s office during the review of government’s access to information responses in 2013-14.

“We take our obligations under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy seriously and are always looking for ways to improve access to information, transparency and to provide information in accessible ways.

“We have taken steps to improve access to information. There are more than 3,000 datasets available on DataBC with new data posted regularly, and the Open Information website is updated daily with over 4,200 responses to freedom of information requests currently available for citizens to view.

“Yesterday I announced that that we will begin to proactively release government purchasing card data on a quarterly basis rather than at the end of the fiscal year with Public Accounts. This information has been regularly requested through government’s access to information so the change will save some time and costs by streamlining processes.

“Government has responded to more requests this past fiscal year than the previous year and received the highest number of general requests ever. Requests are becoming more complex as well. Cross-government requests take much more time to process. Government has also seen the number of requests to multiple ministries increase by 250% since 2009.

“As pointed out by the commissioner, the increase in volume is largely due to requests for calendars of public servants and ministers. These requests alone account for 35% of all general requests, and 75% of the total increase in volume in the last two fiscal years.

“We continue to work to ensure government is open and transparent for citizens, as we take on the challenge of managing ever increasing volume of information- all in a manner that is respectful to taxpayer dollars.”

Contact:

Melody Wey
Communications Manager
Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services
250 508-5030