Bill 9 was introduced in the BC legislature on February 26, 2026, which proposes amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“FIPPA”). One of FIPPA’s main purposes is to govern how members of the public can access records in the custody or under the control of public bodies. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner provides oversight of FIPPA.
Some of the main proposed changes provide public bodies with more flexibility with access to information requests and recognize some of the challenges public bodies face with abusive and malicious requests. These proposed changes include the following:
- Replacing the duty to respond to applicants “without delay” to “without unreasonable delay”.
- Enabling the proactive release of information to individuals seeking their own personal information, without a formal FOI request.
- Strengthening provisions around the specificity of FOI requests: public bodies will have the authority to decide, in their opinion, what constitutes “enough detail” and “reasonable amount of time” when determining whether an FOI request is valid.
- Enabling an applicant to consent to a public body extending the timeline to respond to an FOI request, without needing the OIPC’s approval.
- Expanding the grounds under which a public body may disregard certain access requests: public bodies will be able to request that the OIPC authorize it to disregard FOI requests which are “abusive” or “malicious”, or if they would unreasonably interfere with the operations of the public body.
The proposed changes recognize the administrative burden of complex FOI requests on public bodies and address potential abuse of FIPPA. These amendments will hopefully improve the efficiency of the FOI process while safeguarding the public’s right to information.
Some of the proposed amendments are also directed at streamlining the OIPC’s operational requirements including, allowing the OIPC to extend the time required to complete reviews, enabling inter-jurisdictional collaboration, and clarifying their research requirements. In addition, the changes will expand ministerial powers over centralized data-sharing through a new “connected services provider”. This includes enabling a framework where a connected services provider may facilitate digital services across multiple public bodies.
[amended] Bill 9 has passed second reading (May 6, 2026), and we will continue to monitor it as it moves through the legislature.
Bill 9 – Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2026
Rachel Noble