VANCOUVER — British Columbia's Information and Privacy Commissioner wants the City of Vancouver to improve the way it handles Freedom of Information requests.
Elizabeth Denham says an audit of the city's freedom of information policies began because Vancouver processes the highest number of such requests annually in B.C.
A report released by Denham says her office has received many complaints about the city's actions.
The report reveals problems at every step of the process, from receipt of an information request, to the search for records, the timeliness of the response and the details released.
The City of Vancouver has pledged to accept and implement all 12 of Denham's recommendations and report on progress by the end of the year.
Denham says the response is encouraging and she's hopeful it will lead to a change in attitude.
"I am concerned that we found examples where the tone in communications with applicants was unhelpful, curt or perfunctory, as well as instances in which the city did not respond to an applicant's query at all," Denham says in a news release.
According to the report, the city contravened legislated response timelines for requests for records more than 16 per cent of the time and was four times more likely to miss deadlines with media applicants compared to others asking for information.
"Every member of the public has a right to request certain information from a public body," says Denham.
"There is an expectation and inherent trust that citizens will be treated fairly and openly when they exercise this legal and fundamental right."
