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BC Legislative Committee considering removing the SPCA's secrecy protection:
3: SCOPE
Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Who is covered (and not covered) by the Act? Section 3 discusses the scope of the Act and explains which records are covered by the legislation and which are excluded. Currently the Act covers approximately 2,200 public bodies in British Columbia. Qualifying as public bodies are all provincial ministries, agencies, boards, commissions, most Crown corporations, and offices or other bodies designated in, or added by regulation, to Schedule 2; and local public bodies. Schedule 3 identifies the governing bodies of a profession or occupation falling under the purview of the Act.
The Committee received a few requests to extend the scope of coverage to those entities no longer qualifying as public bodies under the Act. In particular, it was suggested that the records of former Crown corporations needed to be accessible. While we would not normally condone the practice of exempting the entire records of a public-private entity, because of its negative impact on access rights, we have come to the conclusion that the decision to extend or reduce the scope of the Act is a decision to be made by the governing party, rather than private members serving on an all-party parliamentary committee.
One case of exclusion, though, deserves special mention. The Committee was asked to consider bringing the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BCSPCA) under the scope of the Act due to the problems some individuals involved in the animal rights movement have experienced obtaining records of its activities. Upon further inquiry, we learned that the society has a unique status in terms of its organizational structure. The BCSPCA is a not-for-profit and mainly self-funded society organized under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 372). This statute enables the society to provide animal welfare services through its administration centre, branches or shelters, or authorized agents. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries provides a small annual grant ($71,500) specifically for the training of animal cruelty investigators. However, it has no authority to regulate the society's activities,
Recommendation No. 3 ?Investigate why the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was assigned the dual status of a public body and a non-profit society in the first place and whether there is a case for clarifying or even changing its status."
Municipalities have more regulatory power, under the legislation, through their contracts with the society to provide pound services.
From the Committee's perspective, it is clear that the BCSPCA is an anomaly. On the one hand, it is a public body in terms of having statutory authority to deliver its animal welfare services. On the other hand, its legal status as a non-profit society exempts its records from the purview of the Act. Therefore we would urge the government to look into this matter.
COMPOSITION of the COMMITTEE:
Blair Lekstrom, MLA Chair Peace River South: Mike Hunter, MLA Deputy Chair Nanaimo: Bill Belsey, MLA North Coast: Harry Bloy, MLA Burquitlam: Jeff Bray, MLA Victoria-Beacon Hill: Hon. Tom Christensen, MLA (To February 10, 2004) Okanagan-Vernon: Dave Hayer, MLA Surrey-Tynehead: Ken Johnston, MLA Vancouver-Fraserview: Harold Long, MLA (To February 10, 2004) Powell River-Sunshine Coast: Joy MacPhail, MLA Vancouver-Hastings: Sheila Orr, MLA Victoria-Hillside: Barry Penner, MLA Chilliwack-Kent: Gillian Trumper, MLA Alberni-Qualicum: Dr. John Wilson, MLA Cariboo North:
Reports: Enhancing the Province's Public Sector Access and Privacy Law (May 2004) [ PDF | HTML ]
http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/37thparl/session-5/foi/reports/Rpt-FOIPPA37-5.pdf
http://www.leg.bc.ca/cmt/37thparl/session-5/foi/5-37-5-14-5.htm