CUFA BC Submission to the
Special Legislative Committee Reviewing the
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
March 15, 2010

Information is the lifeblood of the academic enterprise and so it will come as no surprise that our organization has a keen interest in the work of the Special Legislative Committee Reviewing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“the Committee”). CUFA BC was involved in the creation of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“the Act”) and has made numerous interventions over the years to try and improve its provisions.

Although a mature piece of legislation, the Act nonetheless has room for improvement. Some improvements hearken back to the early days of the legislation; most are the consequence of the evolving role of information in our society.

With respect to the effect of the act on public universities and the faculty members at those universities, we make seven recommendations to the Committee:

• That Schedule 1 be amended to include the definition of a “faculty member”.
• That no changes be made to the exemptions of examination and test questions (s. 3(1)(d)) and teaching materials and research information (s. 3(1)(e)) from the scope of the Act.
• That s. 3(1)(e) be amended by replacing the phrase “employees of a post-secondary educational body” with “faculty members” as per recommendation above.
• That no changes be made to s. 22(3)(g), which presumes that the disclosure of personal recommendations, evaluations and references is an unreasonable invasion of a third party’s personal privacy.
• That s. 35(2) be amended to allow researchers from all fields of inquiry to seek permission to use personal information found in the course of approved research to contact a person to participate in the research.
• That a new provision be created under s. 75 (Fees) to require that fees be excused for researchers at public post-secondary educational institutions.
• That new provisions be created in s. 3(1) to clarify that the records of a faculty member at a public post-secondary institution are excluded from the scope of the Act.

Download the Full Brief (PDF)

'Protection' Money Needs To Be Indexed Say Profs

CUFA BC News Release
March 2, 2010

BC's university professors warned today that rather than protecting funding for post-secondary education and research, the 2010 provincial budget masks cuts that will degrade the quality of education and undermine BC's long-term competitive position.

"Freezing funding for universities over the next three years and for the foreseeable future is not protecting post-secondary education," said Dr. Paul Bowles, President of the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC. "Costs are increasing each year, and these costs rise more quickly for universities than they do for the province in general."

New technologies, software license agreements, and library acquisitions are amongst the goods and services whose prices tend to increase more quickly than the general Consumer Price Index (CPI). In its November report, the Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services recommended that the government look at establishing a Higher Education Price Index (HEPI) to recognize the unique cost pressures faced by the province's post-secondary institutions.

"Although government grants to post-secondary institutions will not be cut over the next three years in terms of current dollars," Bowles said, "this doesn’t save universities from having to reduce services each year as they seek ways to deal with their unique inflationary pressures. Funding that protected universities would recognize these pressures thus ensuring our faculty and students remain on the leading edge of their fields."

The post-secondary funding freeze is a consequence of the provincial government's plan to return to a balanced budget as soon as possible and commit future surpluses to paying down the debt. The lack of indexed funding for post-secondary education and research threatens the future quality of university education in the province and undermines the Minister of Finance's plan to enhance BC's competitive advantage.

"For too long, BC's competitive advantage has focused on tax rates," Bowles said. "It's time for government to accept that adequately funded post-secondary institutions are just as vital to a prosperous future."