WHAT DOES ABC HAVE TO HIDE? TEAM SAYS NEW FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FEES WOULDN’T BE NEEDED IF ABC WERE OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLE

FOI requests surged after ABC was elected in 2022 – now it wants to discourage them

VANCOUVER (Dec. 8, 2025) – TEAM says ABC’s plan to charge a new $10 fee under the Freedom of Information by-law shows it doesn’t want the public to know what it’s doing.

ABC has given residents lots of reasons to file FOI requests to find out what’s happening at City Hall. They include:

• refusing to reveal FIFA costs

• removing the city staff directory from public view

• discussing city business in ABC caucus sessions instead of open meetings

Now ABC wants to make it harder to find out what they’re up to with a new fee for all non-personal requests. This from the party that in its 2022 campaign platform promised to cut FOI fees in half.

“How can you purport to encourage transparency while charging to access information that should be freely available to the people?” asks former TEAM City Councillor Colleen Hardwick. 

A report going to Council on Dec. 9 shows that in 2023, the first year of ABC’s term, processed FOI requests rose 22% from the year before, from 662 to 807. There was a minor dip to 756 in 2024. About 1,000 requests are expected for all of 2025. That would be up 32% from 2024.

The report says the surge in FOI requests "may be partially due to the city’s status as a public body that does not currently charge a fee for general (non-personal) information requests."

TEAM says it’s far more likely due to ABC’s secrecy, behind-closed-doors decision-making and systematic shutting-out of citizens from their municipal government. 

B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey says the new fee is the opposite of what’s needed. “At a time of declining trust in public institutions and the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation, public bodies need to recognize the fundamental importance of access rights in our democracy and bolster their FOI systems, not erect barriers – financial or otherwise – that may inhibit it,” Harvey said in a statement to theBreaker.news.