The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) calls on Vancouver city councillors to reject a plan that would introduce a $10 fee on freedom of information requests at its upcoming council meeting today.
“Charging Vancouverites for information that is rightfully theirs as taxpayers is wrong,” said Brent Jolly, president of the CAJ. “It’s a proposal that will literally take the ‘free’ out of freedom of information and privilege secrecy over public scrutiny.”
Freedom of information requests are a lawful way for journalists and members of the public to request official records from government bodies or public institutions. In British Columbia, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) explains how institutions should disclose information and be accountable to the public.
The city’s justification for introducing a fee to request information is described in a report written by Cobi Falconer, the city’s access to information and privacy director. Falconer says in the report that the fee “is not intended to block access to but to balance transparency with the resources required to process requests.”
“The city’s proposal is essentially arguing it’s getting too expensive to answer taxpayers’ questions about how their money is being used,” said Jolly. “Penalizing everyone because some people allegedly misuse the system is not acceptable.
“Putting a price on the public’s right to know defies the very principle of democracy,” added Jolly. “Limiting access to information is literally the same as trying to pull the wool over the eyes of citizens. It immediately puts people in the dark about how their governments are spending money.”
Approval of the proposal by B.C.’s largest city is likely to lead to the deterioration of access to information across the province. Since B.C.’s provincial government rewrote FOI laws in 2021 to allow it to charge application fees, a handful of municipalities have followed suit.
If Vancouver introduces this fee, the CAJ is concerned that it would suggest to other institutions that they should apply their own fees, thereby reducing the ability of their own citizens to access information about their community and elected officials.
The fee also illustrates the consequences of changes to provincial rules. Michael Harvey, the province’s information and privacy commissioner, recently warned that reduced access to information threatens the public’s faith in their institutions.
“Trust and transparency are existential for our democracy, and we really need to be prioritizing that,” Harvey said. “If the perception is that [public bodies] are not transparent, that they are opaque, then this is going to play into feelings of mistrust, and that’s really dangerous.”
“Rejecting this proposal will be a clear demonstration that Vancouver city councillors believe in the power of public transparency.”
The Canadian Association of Journalists is the country’s largest professional organization that serves to advance the interests of journalists from coast to coast to coast. The CAJ’s primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members.
For further information: Brent Jolly, president, Canadian Association of Journalists, brent@caj.ca
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