Committee reviewing BC’s access and privacy legislation emphasizes archiving and information management
On May 11, the Special Committee reviewing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) tabled its report in the Legislature. The Committee made 39 recommendations, some of which focus on archives and information management.
The recommendations include making all obligations related to the entire life-cycle of government records part of a cohesive and robust information management scheme; and ensuring that archiving is a high priority (recommendations 3 and 4). In doing so, the Committee cited the vision and presentation of Dr. Laura Miller.
The Committee also recommended that the Province add a duty to document to FIPPA. If adopted, BC will be the first jurisdiction in Canada to bring into force a statutory duty to document. In her submissions to the Committee, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham urged the government to take this step, and based her discussion on requirements to create and capture records that exist in other jurisdictions (particularly in New Zealand and Australia).
Other recommendations addressed the proactive disclosure records, a new offence for the unauthorized destruction of records, and the expansion of the Information and Privacy Commissioner’s oversight to include reviewing allegations of the unauthorized destruction of records within public bodies.
You can review the full details from the Special Committee’s report online.
