ROTHENBURGER: FOI debate becomes an indictment of 2021 wildfire response

Other concerns about the bill include allowing storage of residents’ data outside Canada, and exempting the premier’s office from FOI requests.

Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone started things off by blasting the government during the morning’s Question Period over revelations — ironically gained through FOI applications that obtained caucus briefing notes — that “every key element was decided before consulting with the Privacy Commissioner, before consulting with the public and before consulting with Indigenous peoples.”

Citizens’ Services Minister Lisa Beare brushed him off by saying FOI legislation was outdated and that the government had been “listening to people.”

Stone tried again after the lunch break during debate in committee, attempting an amendment aimed at making sure the public can access information about wildfire suppression.

“We certainly 100 percent respect and appreciate the efforts of the men and women in the B.C. Wildfire Service that actually do the firefighting, but there are and there continue to be ever-increasing concerns from residents impacted that they can’t get answers from government as to what actually happened, in terms of the suppression of fire in their backyards,” he said.

As he’s done several times before, he talked about the devastating White Rock Lake wildfire at Monte Lake and Paxton Valley.

Stone said he and his Liberal colleagues filed several FOI requests asking for a day-to-day accounting of how resources were allocated to fight the fire. After several delays, the government advised that no records were located.

His amendment to a severing clause in the bill basically stated that, as Stone put it, “in no case, shall information relating to wildfire suppression be severed.”

In other words, getting information about how wildfires are fought should be easier, not harder.

His fellow BC Liberals, of course, backed him up. Cariboo-Chilcotin MLA Lorne Doerkson said, “The biggest reason is that we have to do a better job, specifically, of fighting fire. We’ve had an awful tragedy on the Lower Mainland, and I can assure you that there will be questions about that as well.”

Coralee Oakes of Cariboo-North pointed to the importance of FOI applications in connection to insurances claims when property is lost. “We should all be on the same page on helping people rebuild their lives.”

Then it was Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart’s turn. She told a story from the 2017 wildfires when B.C. Wildfire said properties at Pressy Lake in the Bonaparte would be protected with pumps and sprinklers after evacuation.

“Imagine (residents’) surprise when they returned home to find their community burned to the ground and not a hose or a sprinkler to be found.

“When they began to make inquiries to government about what could have possibly happened, they were met with a bureaucratic nightmare. Non-answers for weeks. Then they were told in order to get information, they would have to file a freedom of information request.”

Then she talked about a young family whose home was lost when a backfire went wrong.

“Now they’ve got questions — lots of questions — about who made the decision, based on what. Of course, my constituent was told to file an FOI. No house. No livelihood. Devastated. Simply asking for some kind of common sense around what could have possibly happened, and feeling absolutely blocked from information. I’m saying to you today that that has to change.”

Ben Stewart of Kelowna West also talked about the White Rock Lake fire and loss of homes in his riding. “What we’re trying to do is find a way so that the people within the Ministry of Citizens’ Services dealing with freedom of information can get that out the door in a timely manner, and not make it so that it’s burdensome. I would implore everybody here to consider the amendment.”

Beare thanked them for their input, after which the amendment was defeated by NDP members and debate moved on to other clauses, including the one on fees. But the Liberals soon ran out of time, with remaining clauses being put to a vote without debate.

At the end of the day, Bill 22 was passed by the NDP majority, 49 to 24.

The Liberals — not to mention the information and privacy commissioner, the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, Canadian Association of Journalists, Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, the Canadian Institute for Information and Privacy Studies and several other groups and individuals — simply couldn’t shake the New Democrats from their arrogance.

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Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: FOI debate becomes an indictment of 2021 wildfire response

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