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Letter of reconsideration to the OIPC in regard to the governmental stance that UBCM is not subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act:


Sasha Izard
Nov 30, 2025


Subject: ATTN: Manager of Case Review – Re: INV-P-25-02236

Hello,

OIPC Manager of Case Review, 

I am officially submitting a request for reconsideration of my complaint which was declined by the OIPC Case Review Officer:
INV-P-25-02236

I have forwarded that decision in this email.

The reason I am submitting a request for reconsideration of this file is that I consider that the decision to decline the complaint, was an error.

This is why I consider that decision to have been in error:

As stated in Part 1 of FOIPPA:

“The purposes of this Act are to make public bodies more accountable to the public and to protect personal privacy by

(a)giving the public a right of access to records”

UBCM looks like a public body.  It acts like a public body, and it is a public body.  It is a corporation created by the Province (UBCM Act) to facilitate local governments to interact together and engage with the Provincial Government on governmental issues.

UBCM receives funding from the province (public funds) and facilitates provincial grants to local governments, and therefore, should be both transparent and accountable to the public (the ultimate source of such funds), in a democracy.

Decisions are made at UBCM by elected local government officials in the form of resolutions, which while are not technically binding, many of them do have an effect on the governance of the Province, which in turn impacts both municipal and regional governance.

Ergo, UBCM is a public body, regardless of whether or not it is included in the list of public bodies in Schedule 2 of FIPPA.

Therefore, as is the stated purpose of the Act “to make public bodies more accountable to the public”, by “(a)giving the public a right of access to records” – UBCM is subject to FIPPA, and to requirements for the public release of records according to it.  As a result, my Freedom of Information request to UBCM should be completed and the public body (UBCM)’s response provided to me, according to the legislation.   

Thank you,
Sasha Izard

References:
Union of British Columbia Municipalities Act

Table of Contents – Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act

Excerpted relevant sections from Part 1 of the Act:

Part 1 — Introductory Provisions

Definitions

1  Schedule 1 contains definitions of terms used in this Act.

Purposes of this Act

2   (1)The purposes of this Act are to make public bodies more accountable to the public and to protect personal privacy by

(a)giving the public a right of access to records,

(b)giving individuals a right of access to, and a right to request correction of, personal information about themselves,

(c)specifying limited exceptions to the right of access,

(d)preventing the unauthorized collection, use or disclosure of personal information by public bodies, and

(e)providing for an independent review of decisions made under this Act.

(2)This Act does not replace other procedures for access to information or limit in any way access to information that is not personal information and is available to the public.

Application

3   (1)Subject to subsections (3) to (5), this Act applies to all records in the custody or under the control of a public body, including court administration records.

(2)Part 3 applies

(a)to all employees, officers and directors of a public body, and

(b)in the case of an employee that is a service provider, to all employees and associates of the service provider.

(3)This Act does not apply to the following:

(a)a court record;

(b)a record of

(i)a judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or Provincial Court,

(ii)an associate judge of the Supreme Court, or

(iii)a justice of the peace;

(c)a judicial administration record;

(d)a record relating to support services provided to a judge of a court referred to in paragraph (b) (i);

(e)a personal note, communication or draft decision of a person who is acting in a judicial or quasi-judicial capacity;

(f)a record that is created by or for, or is in the custody or under the control of, an officer of the Legislature and that relates to the exercise of functions under an Act;

(g)a record that was created by or for the auditor general under the Auditor General for Local Government Act and that relates to the exercise of functions under that Act;

(h)a record of a question or answer to be used on an examination or test;

(i)a record containing teaching or research materials of

(i)a faculty member, as defined in the College and Institute Act and the University Act, of a post-secondary educational body,

(ii)a teaching assistant or research assistant employed at a post-secondary educational body, or

(iii)another person teaching or carrying out research at a post-secondary educational body;

(j)a record placed in the archives of a public body, or the digital archives or museum archives of government, by or for a person or agency other than a public body;

(k)a record relating to a prosecution if not all proceedings in respect of the prosecution have been completed;

(l)a record of a service provider that is not related to the provision of services for a public body.

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Schedule 1)

Schedule 1 includes the following definition of “public body”:

“public body” means

(a)a ministry of the government of British Columbia, including, for certainty, the Office of the Premier,

(b)an agency, board, commission, corporation, office or other body designated in, or added by regulation to, Schedule 2, or

(c)a local public body

but does not include

(d)the office of a person who is a member or officer of the Legislative Assembly, or

(e)the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court or Provincial Court;

Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Schedule 2)

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See also:

Lack of Accountability: OIPC Case Review Officer, declined my Freedom of Information Request to the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) on the basis that UBCM is immune from the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles and other material regarding the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) – CRD Watch Homepage