HST papers wrongly denied, B.C. groups say

A B.C. freedom-of-information advocacy group and the provincial NDP have filed formal complaints,saying they were denied government HST documents they should have been given.

Both groupsallege in the complaints that they were told no documentsconcerning the controversial harmonized sales tax fulfilled their requests under freedom-of-information laws.

The groups saidthe release earlier this week to the news media of a thick file of government correspondence and other papers suggest the B.C. government was not being fully open when it denied their requests.

'We have to talk to the ministries in question and find out what happened.' B.C. Information Commissioner spokesman Pat Egan

Vincent Gogolek, spokesman for the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, said Fridayhe wants the B.C. Office of the Information and Privacy Commissionerto investigate why, early this year, his group was denied information that was later released to news organizations.

Gogolek said his group made itsrequest last Sept. 8for HST documents ondiscussions involving the federal government,Ontario and B.C. It was told there were no such records.

The group noted in its sharply worded Sept. 2 letter to Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham that it had requested "copies of all correspondence, briefing notes, background papers, lists of phone calls and meetings, agendas and minutes for any phone calls or meetings with either federal or Ontario governments where the creation of a harmonized sales tax in British Columbia was discussed."

Requests made in 2009

The request further stated: "This request relates to records between Jan. 1, 2009, and May 12, 2009."

It was told on Oct. 20, 2009, that there were "no responsive records."

The group's access-to-information request was worded slightly differently than the one that prompted the release of the documents to the media earlier this week.

The Opposition New Democrats sent a similar complaint letter to Denham on Friday asking her to investigate the government's response to the party's request for HST-related information.

Doug Routley, the party's citizen services critic, said in his letter that the NDP asked for HST documents from the Finance Ministry on Aug. 10, 2009. The request was seeking material from Jan. 1, 2009, to April 30, 2009, but the NDP was told there were no such records.

However, documents from that period were released to the media.

Ongoing probe

The Finance Ministry wouldn't comment on the specifics of the complaints, but said in a brief email response that documents released to different applicants can vary depending on the wording of their requests.

"FOI [freedom of information] is handled by professional servants. Each FOI application is treated separately, based on the wording of the request. Therefore, responses will vary as the requests vary," the department said, noting applicants have the right to complain to the information commissioner.

Gogolek's letter will become part of an ongoing probe into how the government responds to freedom-of-information requests, said Pat Egan, a spokesman for theinformation commissioner.

"We have been investigating this and we continue to investigate," Egan said. "We have to talk to the ministries in question and find out what happened."