WHEREAS the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act allows for only limited recovery for request processing costs; AND WHEREAS many local governments continue to bear unreasonable costs for processing Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act requests; AND WHEREAS the lack of cost recovery for local government resources required to process these requests impacts their budgets and reduces service levels in respect of other areas of local government service to the public: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province be requested to consider amending the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to provide for the option for recovery of actual request processing costs.
Ministry of Labour and Citizens Services The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act makes public bodies accountable by giving the public a right of access to records. In certain circumstances public bodies may charge applicants fees for records in response to access requests but this is limited by a schedule of maximum fees set by Regulation. The Province of British Columbia is committed to a fee structure in the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that strikes an appropriate balance between the publics right of access and the interests of public bodies in recovering costs associated with processing requests. The existing fee structure supports the important policy objectives of giving the public a right of access to records while ensuring that high access costs do not become a barrier to access.