In the midst of a heated debate about changes to B.C.’s freedom of information (FOI) law, some MLAs got a briefing about what’s behind amendments the Opposition says will make it harder for people to use the process.

The independent commissioner who oversees information and privacy said there has been a shocking, unprecedented increase in the number of complaints he gets from individuals disputing how the government handled their request.

Michael Harvey told the all-party finance committee last week his office has seen an 86 per cent increase in one category of complaints and an overall 60 per cent hike in all requests.

“That is almost 3,900 files coming through the door.”

The trend line is not a surprise, as complaints have been increasing for a number of years. “But the sharp increase was a shock,” he said. In data visualization lingo, it’s a hockey stick graph line.

To handle the spike in workload, Harvey told MLAs, his teams are “making greater use of their discretion to either decline to investigate or discontinue investigations.”

He said it’s being........

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