Open government doesn’t naturally flow from open information: big ideas meet challenges in British Columbia

On September 19th, many of British Columbia’s leading minds on freedom of information and privacy issues gathered in downtown Vancouver for the 2012 BC Information Summit. Under the moniker This Time, It’s Personal: Freedom of Information and Privacy Under Government 2.0, the one-day conference dove into the finer points of the BC Government’s sweeping new “Government 2.0” information management initiative. BC’s Freedom of Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham pointed out during her keynote address that the last sitting of the BC legislature brought with it some troubling developments. Despite Premier Christy Clark’s oft-reiterated commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to being the first “Open Government Premier,” Denham noted that a number of the Clark government’s recent bills—particularly amendments to the Animal Health Act—follow a trend toward overriding and circumventing the careful balances built into the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Commissioner Denham, however, recapped the steps taken by her office over the last two years to advance the principles of accountability and transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in government, pointing her office’s expanding list investigations and increased capability thanks to three new policy analysts joining her team.

Her words were an important reminder that Open Government doesn’t just naturally flow from open information. Instead, it comes about through the measured adoption of new tools, coupled with a dual commitment to sensible policy and sound legislative frameworks.

Panel sessions considered – open government boosterism aside – how researchers, advocates, and journalists still face major hurdles in accessing public information through FOI procedures. Members of the “Freedom of Information and Government 2.0” panel considering this included Gwen Barlee (Policy Director, The Wilderness Committee), Chad Skelton (Investigative Reporter, Vancouver Sun) and Mike Larsen (Criminology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University). An “Open Data Report Card” session was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Citizen Services and Open Government, the Community Social Planning Council alongside Herb Lainchbury, founder of OpenDataBC.ca. It explored the role of open data in a new era of governance, what democratic possibilities it opens up, and how we can engage diverse communities in making those possibilities a reality. Darrell Evans who began a grassroots campaign in the 1990s to advocate for the passage of BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, was presented with the Grace-Pépin Access to Information Award. This annual award, presented at Info Summit 2012 by Canada’s Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault, recognizes an exceptional commitment to principles of transparency, accountability and the public’s right to access information. Evans founded and has been long-time Executive Director of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association.

Often when the topics of information freedom and open government are at hand, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of new tools and technologies. This year’s Information Summit brought that enthusiasm for new possibilities together with the kind of in-depth detailed analysis we need to make informed decisions.  

OGP Editor’s Note: With an increase in transparent government practice filtering through to local-level government, and a proliferation of material to this end now available, holding governments to account based on an ever-changing framework can sometimes seem like more of a challenge.  We’re keen to hear of other case studies such as this report card technique where countries are monitoring progress of open government and freedom of info promises.