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requesting their exemption. Jones said that British Columbia would be tne first
jurisdiction in Canada to lift this exemption.

Jones said another recommendation which would leave BC ahead of other
provinces is the extension of information and privacy rights to cover self governing
professional bodies such as the Law Society of British Columbia and the College of
Physicians and Surgeons.

These professional bodies are created by provincial legislation to regulate their
respective professions in the public interest. "They are clearly conducting public
business, and I am recomrmending they be covered by freedom of information and

protection of privacy legislation in the same manner as other public sector bodies,"
said Jones.

Almost half of the recommendations in Jones’ report call for amendments
which would tailor existing provincial legislation to meet the unique circumstances of
local government bodies. These proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information
and Protection of Privacy Act address issues such as in-camera meetings, the safety of
police informants, the privacy of academic research and lecture notes and the privacy
of confidential reference letters.

The report also contains more than a dozen recommendations to help avoid
unnecessary costs associated with these new rights. "The Ontario experience is that
information and privacy rights are not costly at the local level, in spite of early fears
they would be," said Jones.

Jones said that although many Ontario public bodies expected an avalanche of
information requests when legislation was passed in that province, the official record
shows they receive an average of only four formal requests per year.

"T would still like to see the BC government help out school boards,
municipalities and other public bodies with more training and administrative advice
during the transition,” said Jones. "As the former chair of a local school board, I am
acutely aware of the need to do this properly in order to make it a success.”

Jones has also recommended an extended implementation period, which
would allow an orderly, efficient transition.

Jones’ report will now be considered by the Cabinet-Caucus Committee on
Information and Privacy, which is recommending policy and legislation to Cabinet
for the spring sitting of the legislature. Jones said the committee’s goal is to enable
the government to introduce legislative changes by May of this year.

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CONTACT: David Reilley
744-6600 (cellular Victoria)

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