06/07/2026
Absolute disgraceful control of information that belongs to the taxpayer!
To the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner:
This is an absolute disgrace.
Your office has now decided that British Columbians can only pursue a maximum of three active files with the OIPC at any one time. If someone has the audacity to have seven legitimate open matters because this NDP government keeps giving them reasons to file, you are telling them to drop five of them before you will even look at anything new.
That is not equitable access. That is bureaucratic gatekeeping designed to protect a secretive, arrogant NDP government from real scrutiny.
The high volume of complaints and reviews landing on your desk is not some abuse of the system by high volume applicants. It is the direct result of an NDP government that treats Freedom of Information like an inconvenience and transparency like a threat. When one citizen has seven active files, it means seven separate instances where information was withheld, delayed, or buried. That is not a problem with the requester. That is a problem with the government.
Instead of forcing this NDP administration to clean up its act and respond properly to legitimate requests the first time, your office is now rationing accountability. You are putting a hard cap on how much sunlight one person can demand. That is not independence. That is enabling secrecy.
I demand the following immediately:
Reverse this arbitrary three file limit and the broader high volume applicant policy that throttles legitimate oversight.
Process every valid file on its merits without artificial caps or bureaucratic excuses.
Publicly explain why your office believes limiting citizens ability to hold this government accountable serves the public interest.
British Columbians have a fundamental right to know what their government is doing with their money, their institutions, and their future. This policy is an insult to that right.
The NDP has spent years making FOI slower, more expensive, and less effective. Now their dysfunction has spread to the very office meant to enforce transparency. Enough.
I will not accept this. When the BC Conservatives form government, we will tear down these barriers. We will make public information open by default, eliminate the games, and restore real accountability so no office including yours ever again feels comfortable telling British Columbians they can only ask so many questions.
This ends now.
John Rustad
MLA for Nechako-LakesThis is an absolute disgrace.
The OIPC just capped British Columbians at a maximum of three active files. If you have seven legitimate matters because this NDP government keeps hiding the truth, they demand you drop five before they will even touch anything new.
That is not equitable access. That is bureaucratic gatekeeping to shield a secretive NDP government from scrutiny.
The flood of complaints is not abuse. It is the direct result of an NDP regime that treats Freedom of Information like an inconvenience and transparency like a threat.
I demand they reverse this arbitrary limit immediately, process every valid file without caps, and explain why they are rationing accountability.
British Columbians deserve to know what their government is doing with their money and their future. This is an insult.
Enough. When the BC Conservatives form government, we will make information open by default and restore real accountability.
This ends now.
John Rustad
MLA for Nechako-Lakes
