City hall has received a stern talking to from the province’s information and privacy commissioner following an audit of Vancouver’s compliance with freedom-of-information (FOI) laws.

“It is clear to me there is a need for change to the approach city staff use in processing access requests,” commissioner Elizabeth Denham said in a June 23 media release. “We observed shortcomings in almost every step of the freedom of information process—from receipt of the request, to searching for records, to the timeliness of response to the applicant and the content of the response itself.”

The audit, conducted by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C. (OIPC), mostly focuses on FOI response times and delays that appear to target requests filed by members of the media.

But the report’s most troubling findings concern the alleged deletion of records and evasion of FOI laws. The OIPC, however, found that an examination of these concerns fell outside the scope of its investigation.

"There was evidence in concluded OIPC review files and submissions to this review that, in some cases, certain city staff treated emails and other records as transitory even when they were not and subsequently deleted records," it reads.

“As well, there was an allegation that city staff had been directed, on at least one occasion, to use different naming conventions when saving files pertaining to certain topics so that records could not be easily located if a search for responsive records was conducted,” the report continues. “This allegation was corroborated by two former employees who each independently provided this information."

An October 2015 report on an OIPC review of provincial compliance with FOI laws similarly found government staff were deleting emails and failing to fully comply with duties to provide information as legislated.

On delays, the city was found to miss legislated timelines to respond in 16 percent of FOI requests filed. Furthermore, failure to meet legislated timelines was four times more likely when the applicant was a member of the media.

How city staff deal with journalists was a prominent theme throughout the report.

“Of particular concern to me is evidence that the city is treating media applicants differently than other applicants,” it reads.

“There were allegations in submissions to this review and in the media that directions had been given to the city to disregard or delay responding to media requests, and that the city treated certain media applicants inequitably,” the report continues.

“The principle in FOI requests is that all applicants be treated equally, and should not be distinguished by their employment status.”

The report notes that city staff denied treating the media differently. But it also presents a detailed analysis that strongly supports the assertion that requests filed by journalists were given special treatment. For example, it notes that requests filed by reporters were 2.5 times more likely to require extensions before a response was delivered, and that journalists’ request were three times more likely to see files reviewed by a department head.

The OIPC also found evidence the city will delay or obstruct the delivery of an FOI response if the information in question is deemed sensitive.

Today’s report includes 12 recommendations that outline how the City of Vancouver should address the issues it describes.

Within minutes of the document’s release, the city issued a formal response signed by city manager Sadhu Johnston. It states that the city will act on all 12 recommendations.

“I would like to assure you that the city will endeavour to address each of your recommendations in a timely way,” it reads.

On the alleged deletion of records that the OIPC found was outside the scope of its investigation, Johnston wrote that the city was “concerned” and “takes the allegations seriously”.

“If your office is in a position to provide any further information to permit an investigation into this matter, the City is prepared to pursue such investigation and, if substantiated, take appropriate action,” it reads.

The city’s response states that a status update on the implementation of the OIPC’s recommendations will be issued before the end of the year.