FOI Requests In BC Watched Closely

But confidential “Advice to Minister” notes show the FOI process in B.C. has been twisted to serve as a communications tool, which allows government to scrutinize the FOI activities of law-abiding citizens who intend to hold it accountable.

....

How FOIs are monitored

Here’s how the FOI surveillance system works: Sensitive or politically contentious requests are weeded out through an FOI monitoring system which begins at the ministry which receives the request.

Each ministry logs its FOI requests into a government-wide electronic database called the Corporate Request Tracking System (CRTS) which automatically enters the sensitive flag for targeted categories of requesters such as media.

“There are a bunch of categories and we would check a sensitivity level,” said Sharon Plater, director of the Corporate Privacy and Information Access Branch (CPIAB) which operates and maintains the CRTS database for the Ministry of Management Services.

“Our criteria are, if it is media, if it is a political party, lobby group or something we are aware of that is in the media – we would check it as sensitive,” said Plater, who said the practice has been in play since 1993.

....

B.C. alone passes on requesters’ names

The sensitivity rating appears to mean delays of, on average, twice as long, according to Roberts’ December 2003 study, and there is little question that political concerns are a factor in determining the degree of sensitivity.

“Much of the most sensitive material relates to the core policy making activity of government,” reported Roberts, who directs a public affairs institute at Syracuse University in New York State.

Requests for polls, minister’s travel, briefing notes, budget materials and policy issues –information often targeted by media or the Opposition – were most likely to be flagged as sensitive by the CPIAB. Roberts’ study showed all requests for budget information were flagged as “high” sensitivity on the CRTS database.

etc

here's the whole thing:
How B.C.’s Government Tracks, Stalls Muckrakers

Note: How B.C.’s Government T...