RIVERS WITHOUT BORDERS

Posted In: General

Access to Information?

For the past four years I have been using our Canadian federal Access to Information and Privacy legislation to try to find out information about the Tulsequah Chief mine project in the Taku watershed, as well as about the Galore Creek mine in the Stikine watershed and other projects in the BC-Alaska transboundary region.

With whichever federal Ministry I have requested information from - Environment, Fisheries and Oceans, Foreign Affairs – I’ve always had to go through the same time-consuming dance: request information, they reply saying they need more time, wait months for information, they finally send some small pile of papers – often letters our own organization had written to the agency – with much of it blackened out. I would then issue a formal complaint to the overworked Access to Information and Privacy Commission who in almost every case found the Ministry in question had not released all information they could or that the delays were not called for, and I would then receive more documentation.

More often than not, this information would be either an overwhelming pile of papers – sometimes a box full, that would take months to wade through and cost hundreds of dollars in photocopying to receive and contain sheets of blackened out pages and lists of what has been omitted (the alternative is to wait for an appointment to view the documents in the Ministry’s local office and go through the documents there so you only copy what you need – a good alternative if you have the time, see below). Other times, the information would come in digital form, but scanned as images, so there is no way to search it without going through the entire file. And then on other occasions, very few papers would show up and the ones that arrived would be largely blackened out, with a list of the legal clauses governing their omissions, implying that though I was trying to find out about a mine polluting a waterway, or a road that will be built despite documented grave consequences, and never decommissioned, the private concerns of the companies involved outweighed the public interest of releasing the information.

I can’t even count how many of the clauses limiting the release of information claimed that it was protected as it may be used as part of a pending legal case. I believed that the first few times, but after receiving that letter on numerous occasions and waiting four years with no sign of any related legal cases, I have started to question how likely a legal case has to be before Ministries can just withhold information with that as an excuse.

Recently I have been making Freedom of Information requests to BC Ministries for information that is in their jurisdiction. I don’t have as much experience to draw from with them, but rumour is that it is an even slower, less productive dance.

I think that accessing information is an essential piece of democratic governance, particularly on issues of public interest like new road construction in wilderness areas, industrial development, and pollution. So I have written out some tips that have been told to me or I have discovered in my attempts to get information. I hope these help others in their efforts to access information at the federal or BC provincial level, and  I am sure many of them will transfer to other provinces as well.

• Access to Information (ATIP) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests should NOT be your first means to obtain information. First, assess who might have the information you are looking for, then try calling those agencies, talking to allies who might know more, relevant press, or others who may have it,  as this will generally be a much more efficient means to obtain the information.
• If you do make an information request, mark the dates you send in documents on your calendar and follow up if you have not received a response within 30 days plus reasonable postal times on both ends.
• Be as specific as you can in your request. A net cast too wide will result in delays and often over-information. This means asking for specific information and within and particular time frame (ie. since January 1, 2006).
• However, cast the net a wee bit wider that where you know there is information, as you might learn something new.
• Think about who (which agency/ies) will have the documents you are looking for and send the request to them. The information officer is not likely to know where the documents might be, they are just going to assess your request, so you need to do that legwork.
• Even documents that are mostly blackened out or that don’t look useful at first glance can contain great information. Check things like the date created, the author, the recipient(s), notes in the margin, if it’s an email look at whom it was cc’d to or the conversation it was part of. Often much is unintentionally revealed.
• At the provincial level, send requests to the BC Legislative Press Gallery as well as to the agency where you think the information would be held. A lot of information goes through the Press Gallery as that is where the communications people decide how different issues will be presented publicly. If the topic hasn’t been in the news, maybe wait for a few weeks after your request to the other agencies, in case files are sent to the Press Gallery for vetting.
• Remember that the Access to Information staff are working with you, they want to get you all the information that you are legally entitled to. They are however overworked and likely working on many files at once. Don’t vent your frustrations with them.
• Don’t give up. If you haven’t received much information and you feel pretty sure there is more that should be released, issue a formal complaint.
• Plan ahead. It can take a year to get the information you are seeking, after delays and complaints etc.. but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t request it even if your time line is tight. For one thing, you might luck out and get information quickly, but for another, it’s better to have the ball rolling and see what comes of it, as a year down the road the information might still be very relevant.
• If you don’t have a lot of money, or think you might be getting more information than you need, opt to read the documents in the local office of the Ministry, there is most often somewhere they can send it to and have you read it. Then you can just choose the relevant pages and copy those.
• If your request is broad, put a note with it to release the information as it becomes available, not to wait for all of it before any is released. That way it might at least start to trickle in.
• I have heard that sometimes information is released more quickly to sources that are less likely to cause a stir with it (ie. individuals over journalists or environmental organizations). Note that this is a rumour and I can’t substantiate it.
• I have also heard that it is a good idea to specifically request "sticky notes" as part of the sources of information you list, as these may not otherwise be considered part of a file and can contain great information. I am always clear that "documentation" includes handwritten notes, memos, emails and other relevant materials.

Useful Resources:

1. The Citizen’s Guide to FOI (order or download this free guide, it is invaluable for BC government requests)
2. Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada (click to read federal act and information)
3. Click here for the names and contacts for Access to Information and Privacy Coordinators for each Ministry. These are who you send your requests to.
4. Click here for the BC Government Directory. Here you can find the addresses of all Ministries for sending FOIs.

 Good Luck!