Understaffing and underfunding may be causing the projects at the British Columbia Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction to ironically be caught up in red tape.

The transition binder prepared for Minister Coralee Oakes when she took the file in August of 2015, suggests that two pilot projects aimed at reducing burdensome forms were set aside due to “lack of staff resources,” according to one of the documents in the binder.

The binder was released through a freedom of information request. The document in question is a PowerPoint slide. The content of the slide has been redacted, but a note clearly suggests that the projects did not go forward.

The fact that the Ministry was able to put time into a project in the first place came as a surprise to NDP critic for Small Business, Jane Shin. “The ministry got the promotion to full ministry status, when in fact it has the operating budget” of a small ministry.

The note under the slide also indicates that the projects produced a best practices guide for forms, but that the guide “remains a tool” rather than a mandated requirement. In response to an email regarding the document, the ministry indicated that the guide was not mandated because forms vary across departments, and having a single format for forms would not make sense.

While the lack of resources is often the reasoning given for sidelining projects, University of British Columbia professor and expert in bureaucracy and red tape, Martin Schulz argues that it is about resource allocation. In an email he said the limited resource reasoning is “often a convenient excuse for the lack of interest or attention.”

Schulz speculates that there might be resistance to altering forms because even a slight change could cause unforeseen consequences, such as abuse. “Small changes of rules can cause dramatic changes to the system,” he wrote in his email.

However Shin still thinks the ministry’s lack of resources had a hand in the projects being benched. She says that the understaffing and underfunding is largely due to the uniqueness of the ministry itself. “In other jurisdictions small business is not really a ministry of its own,” she says “it’s usually part of a bigger file.”

Despite its small size, the BC government pushes Small Business and Red Tape Reduction as one of its prime ministries. The government host several events highlighting the work of the ministry, including Red Tape Reduction Day, which was first observed March 2 of this year.

Furthermore the documents in the binder indicate that introducing more straightforward forms was part of the Reducing Red Tape for Real People Initiative, launched by the BC government in the February 2015 throne speech. Such an emphasis on forms as part of this initiative suggests that there is interest in the project, despite Shulz suggestions.

While it may appear that the form project, aimed at reducing red tape was caught up in red tape itself, the initiative is not set to be complete until June of this year. According to the documents the ministry will report to cabinet on this summer, still leaving time for the projects to be brought full swing.

Documents

Requests

Efforts to overhaul the Fisheries Act have “stalled” according to Ruth Salmon, executive director of the aquaculture lobby group, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance.

The group has been pressuring the federal government to “modernize” fishing legislature to redefine fish farming as an extension of the federal Ministry of Agriculture. This proposal was brought to the British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture – which appears to be on board, according to documents obtained under the B.C. freedom-of-information law.

The Ministry recognizes the Fisheries Act as expired legislature, a “poor fit” that “lacks the capacity” to allow proper development of the aquaculture industry.

(*) What is the information? 

Briefing notes for Norm Letnick, the B.C. Minster of Agriculture. The document suggests provincial recognition that the Fisheries Act is a “poor fit” and the regulatory framework doesn’t allow growth of the aquaculture industry.

(*) From which department did these pages come?

British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture

(*) Why was this information helpful?

The document helped to provide a focus for the story and directed the questioning for Salmon and the Ministry.

Though the Ministry appears favourable towards Salmon’s CAIA proposal, and they slighted a question regarding their support for Salmon’s proposal, the government remains reluctant to be vocal in their support of rehauling federal regulations.

In an email response the Ministry said they’re aware of the CAIA’s proposal, though there are drafts being drawn up by the Strategic Management Committee – a group of provincial and federal officials from across the country –  to bring the aged legislation up to meet the with modern aquaculture industry.

Salmon argues the Fisheries Act was brought into existence “before aquaculture was even a concept” and that it shouldn’t surprise that aquaculture not a good fit for a dated Act.

There is “a lot of overlap,” Salmon says, and that they comply with 74 current pieces of legislation that are “conflicting” and “confusing” when considering aquaculture as a farming industry rather than a fishery.

According to Salmon, Canada has been “stalled for 13 years” while other nations benefit from federal policy on aquaculture that is cultivating a growing global industry that Salmon estimates is growing at a rate of “79 per cent per year.”

(*) What is the information? 

This document is from the same briefing note. It highlights the discussion of what a Aquaculture Act may provide.

(*) From which department did these pages come?

British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture

(*) Why was this information helpful?

The document helped to understand the depth of the issue and allow experts and Ministry to refer to what has been said about a proposed Aquaculture Act.

Most of Canada’s top competitors – the United States, Chile, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia – have already enacted aquaculture legislation and Salmon believes it’s time Canada modernizes their fishing industry to change policy regarding aquaculture and increase provincial and federal oversight to encourage growth.

Easier said than done.

The complexity surrounding aquaculture policy and the Fishing Act isn’t new; many experts wouldn’t comment (better to say they couldn’t comment) because they are still grappling with the unclarity surrounding an industry in a grey area.

It’s an industry caught between two Ministries; existing as a fishery under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but persisting as farming.

Peter Tyedmers, professor of environmental science at Dalhousie, says a federal act will in no way “disentangle” the web of complexity involving the constitution.

He says the division of power and responsibility between federal and provincial governments add to the complex framework. Current government oversight under the Fisheries Act, he says, is a “crazy patchwork quilt” of competing jurisdictions. And that is the leading cause for confusion.

As an example, Tyedmers says provinces like P.E.I. have the authority to provide licenses and decide the size of the farm – a degree of governance with some sovereignty. Though, a federal Aquaculture Act would allow for further federal oversight and mingling into provincial jurisdictions.

“The people drafting this have enough sense to know that they cannot change the constitutional powers of the government with one act,” Tyedmers said. He defines the proposed Act as a “constitutional interpretation challenge,” one that higher courts may strike down based on the federal-provincial conflict.

What remains consistent throughout expert opinion, lobbyists and government officials is the unclear, confusing mess of legislation that overlaps the aquaculture industry and fisheries.

“The complexity as a failure of government,” Tyedmers said.

____________________

Federal: Department of Fisheries and Oceans

**Received a call March 24 to add some to the request. She only added the word ‘proposed’ before ‘federal Aquaculture Act’ so that it may generate more hits, or be less specific as to get a better response.

**Received another call asking if I wanted private emails, because there may not be a lot of records and the emails will add much more.

Provincial: B.C. Ministry of Agriculture

**Acknowledged my request.

Municipal: City of Vancouver

**Acknowledged my request.

BC Rail is selling off industrial parks and prime real estate and making millions.

Once the biggest rail company in British Columbia, BC Rail is now run by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. It sold off its trains 10 years ago and leases its track to CN. Its mandate is to sell off any property not related to its ports and rail operations, according to information from records released through the B.C. freedom-of-information law. Disposing of surplus property is part of the province’s asset disposal policy.

Between 2005 and 2015 the company sold more than 400 properties. BC Rail gained $144 million from the sales and they’re predicting they’ll sell more surplus land in the next two years, according to information that came from records released through the B.C. freedom-of-information law. In last year’s budget, they estimated they’ll have yearly proceeds of $2.5 million with gains of $1 million between 2015 and 2018.

BCR Properties, the subsidiary of BC Rail that sells its surplus property, sold 11 properties in the past year. Properties in Squamish, Pemberton, Prince George, Mackenzie and Fort St. John have generated proceeds of $4.6 million and gains of $1.9 million, according to an email received from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Before any land can be put on the market, the province has to do any necessary environmental clean-up. For example, a former BC Rail North Yard site took more than six years to complete environmental clean up. BC Rail has worked with Lorax Environmental and Envirogreen Technologies to clean the land to make it safe to sell to the public. BC Rail’s current surplus properties don’t require cleanup.

Larger properties are also sometimes broken up into smaller parcels of land for easier sale. Right now BCR Properties has three properties publicly available for sale through the Cushman and Wakefield real estate company: industrial land in Dawson Creek; an industrial park in Prince George; and retail and office-zoned land in Squamish.

The asking price for the Dawson Creek land is nearly $400,000, while the Squamish and Prince George prices aren’t listed.

(*) What is the information? This is information about what BC Rail is and its strategic goals for the future.
(*) From which department did these pages come? These pages come from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
(*) Why was this information helpful? This information was helpful because it laid out why BC Rail is selling off surplus properties.

(*) What is the information? This is information about BC Rail’s surplus property sales in the past and their plan for the future.
(*) From which department did these pages come? These pages from from the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
(*) Why was this information helpful? This information was helpful because it provided specific numbers and dollar amounts relating to both what BC Rail has already sold and want it estimates it will sell in the future.

The fate of a former Langley, B.C. illegal drug lab is unclear as provincial government officials will not confirm whether or not the contaminated property has been cleaned up.

In April 2014 Langley RCMP raided a property at 20668 72^nd avenue that was alleged to have contained an illegal drug manufacturing operation.  A 36-year-old Surrey B.C. resident was arrested in the process and his case is before the courts, says Cpl. Scotty Schumann of the RCMP.

The B.C. Ministry of the Environment did not answer requests for comment on this story. But according to ministry documents obtained through the province’s freedom of information laws, an investigation determined in July 2014 that the site posed a “high risk [of] contamination at both the source and neighbouring parcels due to solvent concentrations (toluene and dichloromethane) in soil and groundwater.”

Both toluene and dichloromethane are chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs like methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The documents go on to say the province sent letters to the site’s registered owners demanding the property be cleaned up.  The owners did not respond and that “the lack of response to the Ministry’s letter of March 5, 2015 can be interpreted that the parties are unwilling or unable to carry out remediation or to comply with the requirements to remediate the site.”

This leaves it up to the provincial government to clean up the site and recover the costs associated with the remediation from the site’s owners, the documents state.

The province did issue a press release on May 5^, 2015 saying the ministry had ordered the site be cleaned up as soon as possible.  The press release also states that the province would be seeking a contractor to clean up the site—however ministry officials have yet to confirm that the work was actually carried out.

Cleaning up a former drug lab – called site remediation – can be a costly and sometimes difficult process, says Kristen Hoedlmoser, a chemical and environmental engineer with the consulting firm Giffin Koerth, Inc.

“You can have these nasty chemicals that are harmful and addictive that are on surfaces throughout the structure and can be in the air,” she says.

That’s why a thorough evaluation of the structures and land must be completed before the remediation crews can begin the clean up, she says.

“You can get a whole host of things that would be bi-products of the [methamphetamine] cooking process,” she says.

Remediation firms can use a variety of methods to clean a contaminated structure, she says. This can include scrubbing the walls with special chemicals, cleaning porous surfaces like carpets to removing finishes like baseboards and panels.

“It depends on how responsive the building materials are to the cleaning activities,” she says. “Sometimes it can take a couple of rounds of cleaning and possibly adjusting the cleaning protocol as required to get the surfaces and the air quality to a level that is acceptable.”

The goal is to make the property habitable again, though sometimes it may be necessary to demolish a structure, she says.

“Anything can be remediated but it becomes a cost issue,” she says. “It often comes down to a dollar and sense conversation.”

What is the information?

The information contained in these ministry documents are about an “orphaned” site that was once a clandestine drug lab.

From which department did these pages come?

B.C. Ministry of the Environment

Why was this information helpful?

It contained information about a hazardous plot of land in Langley, B.C. and the government’s efforts to clean it up.

ATIP Requests below

Federal ATIP request for expenses filed by the chief executive officer of Defence Construction Canada. The is an email stating they have sent the request to the appropriate department.

Municipal ATIP request for the City of Ottawa regarding Ottawa Fire Service records:

Provincial ATIP request regarding expenses filed by the director of the Ontario Film Authority:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Completed ATIP request from the federal department of Canadian Heritage – ministerial briefing book.

The British Columbia Ministry of Health relies on an outside agency to deal with the most common reason for seeking health care in the province.

A briefing note prepared for the Minister of Health, which was released under the B.C. freedom-of-information law, identified Pain BC as “an integral part to providing British Columbians with effective and appropriate care.”

Pain BC is a coalition of healthcare providers, researchers, decision makers working in healthcare and patients, who work together to provide solutions to chronic pain in the province.

“It’s a very misunderstood condition,” said Maria Hudspith, the executive director of Pain BC.

Patients of chronic pain are frequent users of the healthcare system. Their consistent reliance on medication and health care services makes the disease expensive to treat, Hudspith added.

(Click on annotation to read the full document)

The B.C. Ministry of Health said in an email statement that physicians and patients in the province have been seeking “additional tools, resources and effective treatments” to manage chronic pain conditions and increase quality of life.

To achieve that objective, the province has awarded Pain BC about $2.8 million for its Chronic Pain Management program since 2014.

Hudspith defines chronic pain as pain which persists for more than three months. Pain BC estimates that one million British Columbians endure this condition. In 2030, the number of chronic pain patients is expected to increase by roughly 25 percent, with the highest number of those affected being seniors.

(Click on the annotation to read the full document)

The searing effects of this condition do not end with the healthcare system. Hudspith said they creep into a person’s ability to execute everyday activities. They can also affect one’s mental health and cause addiction.

“It’s (chronic pain) something that government on its own may not really have tackled and it is really necessary for an outside agency to be driving government to pay attention and to act on this issue,” said Hudspith.

Pain BC is the only organization in Canada working with patients and health care providers to address chronic pain management, the B.C. Ministry of Health wrote in an email statement.

The not-for-profit organization has created online patient education sessions to teach patients how to manage their pain, started peer support groups that now have more than 4,000 members and has trained doctors, pharmacists and other health care providers to assess and treat chronic pain. More than 500 physicians in B.C implement these in their practice.

Pain BC is also working with hospitals to change their policies and procedures to better serve patients of chronic pain.

“The healthcare system is very complex and there are many different agendas driving change in the system,” Hudspith said. “We are one of many voices trying to get our issue on the agenda for decision makers.”

“We have all of the thought leaders in the room. It’s been a very important part of our success to have such a broad coalition in terms of building credibility to government and other sectors.”

(Click on the annotation to read the full document)

According to a briefing note obtained under the B.C. freedom of information law, the British Columbia Ministry of Health does not have a registry for measuring the incidence, prevalence and cost of chronic pain in the province.

The B.C. Ministry of Health said Pain BC’s work will contribute to its service plan objective of “improved patient health outcomes and reduced hospitalizations for seniors through effective community services.”

“Our early assessment of Pain BC is that they are doing good work,” the Ministry added.

______________

What is the information?

The files are briefing notes prepared for the B.C. Minister of Health for a meeting with Pain BC. The details in the note highlight the history of Pain BC and make reference to the significance of the non-profit organization to the province’s health agenda

From which department did these pages come?

The B.C. Ministry of Health

Why was this information helpful?

The details in the note emphasized the significance of Pain BC’s work to the Ministry of Health. As a result, it inspired the approach I took to write the story and the questions I asked. It also provided some helpful statistics about the extent of chronic pain in British Columbia as well as the cost of treating it.

Relevant Documents for ATIP Pain BC

Federal Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Online Request

Federal ATI Request

Provincial ATI Request

Municipal ATI Request

Just below is an email confirming that I applied to receive files that had already been requested under the freedom of information law.

In it’s most recent annual report, BC’s Legal Services Society, the body responsible for providing legal aid in the province, set overall targets of pleasing just 62 per cent of lawyers and 66 per cent of clients.

The targets are “quite low,” says Cathryn Spracklin, manager of strategic planning and policy at LSS. “We are trying to be realistic about what we can achieve in terms of improving on that baseline, and set our targets accordingly.”

The report also included targets of just 35 and 52 per cent for lawyer and client satisfaction with respect to the level of support provided by LSS to assist clients in resolving related legal issues.

“People’s legal problems don’t occur in isolation,” says Spracklin. “They’re often co-related to issues with poverty, with mental health, [housing], all sorts of things.”

With current satisfaction rates either slightly below or equal to stated targets, achieving these objectives will produce only modest improvements in overall satisfaction, says Spracklin, noting that while funding of legal aid services in the province has declined substantially over recent decades, the number of low-income persons in need of such services has remained constant.

“You can be very poor and still get no assistance,” says Spracklin. “It’s a struggle to try and decide whether you provide a higher level of service to fewer clients, or greater access to service for a higher number.” 

Source: Legal Services Society BC, Legal Aid by the Numbers, 2013

Increased access to legal aid

Andrew Pilliar, a Vancouver lawyer and advocate for expanding access to legal aid, says surveys such as those conducted by the LSS are often flawed.

“You don’t get an adequate sample,” says Pilliar, “You get the people who are really pissed off or who are really happy.”

Pilliar also questions the wisdom of setting such low targets.

“I’m not convinced we’re being ambitious enough,” says Pilliar, who believes access to justice and legal aid services should be universal, noting that 45 per cent of all adult Canadians, or roughly 12 million people, have experienced some form of legal need in the past three years alone.

“Legal aid has become an afterthought for most people,” says Pilliar. “Something that they don’t think will apply to them because its only for poor people and criminals.”

But, as Pilliar explains, being charged with a crime is just one reason why someone might require a lawyer. Simple contract disputes – like those related to a lease or mortgage agreement – divorce, and child custody battles are amongst the most common reasons why Canadians seek legal advice – the vast majority of which is paid for out of pocket.

Still, Pilliar says less than 10 per cent of Canadians with legal issues seek the advice of a lawyer – opting instead to represent themselves or resolve their legal issues through alternative, and invariably inferior, means.

Ontario lawyers confront similar problems

While access quality legal aid services has improved significantly in Ontario during the past two decades, the province’s lawyers and clients still face many of the same challenges as those found in BC.

Mark Ertel, a long-time criminal defense lawyer and past president of the Defense Counsel Association of Ottawa, says the costs of running an office, combined with a low hourly rate of pay, make it difficult for lawyers in Ontario to accept legal aid cases.

“We essentially were doing charity work,” says Ertel. “Lawyers were working for $20 an hour, really, and we were getting our cars fixed by guys charging $60 an hour.”

“We’ve done this to these people,” says Ertel, frustrated with the lack of support for legal aid services. “They feel like a welfare case. They’re treated like a welfare case. And so long as they get any kind of representation at all they think it’s great.”

-30-

INFORMATION ON DUCUMENTS

1) What is the information?

A: The documents describe specific performance measures from the most recent Annual Service Plan Report of the Legal Services Society of British Columbia.

2) From which department did these pages come?

A: The pages were prepared by the BC Ministry of Justice for use by the Attorney General in recommending new appointees to the LSS board of directors.

3) Why was this information helpful?

A: I used this information to a) develop a story idea, b) develop specific and targeted questions for interview subjects, and c) to develop a list of possible sources for the production of my story.

LSSBC Performance Measures

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Online Request

Informal Request for ATI Records Previously Released _ Open Government

Access-to-information-request

FOI Request – Billing Records

FOI Request – Office of the Premier

FOI Request – Jim Sutherland’s emails

FOI Request FNR-2016-61351 – brihill9@gmail

FOI Request_ Our File No. 2016-090 – ack – brihill9@gmail

FOI Request OOP-2016-61352

By Rupert Nuttle

The B.C. government is screening drivers and keeping a close eye on “party buses” amid growing concern over the industry’s handling of public safety and underage drinking.

Companies operating stretch SUVs and limo buses – which are popular among students celebrating graduation, and as a classy way to get from Vancouver to Whistler – were subjected to increased regulation from the Ministry of Transportation last spring. Companies operating under the old regulations were made to re-apply for updated licences.

According to documents obtained under the B.C. freedom-of-information law, the new rules were also accompanied by an emphasis on knowing where the vehicles operate and a renewed scrutiny of the companies themselves.

“The (ministry) has access to information on all vehicles operating limousine style services, and knows exactly where the vehicles are operating,” the documents read. They go on to explain that this information “will assist with auditing and other enforcement measures.”

The party bus industry is regulated by the passenger transportation department of the Ministry of Transportation. Kristin Vanderkuip, the department’s director, says she uses a specific penalty framework to determine what enforcement measures to take when operators break the rules.

If a party bus operator is caught outside their predetermined boundaries, for instance, they’re fined $500. Other infractions include leasing a vehicle’s plates for a fee (a $1,000 fine), and smoking while driving ($100).

According to its website, the department also conducts “random” audits of party bus companies on an annual basis. If an operator isn’t up to snuff, they are given the chance to make the necessary changes.  In more extreme cases, though, the ministry will notify the Passenger Transportation Board, an independent tribunal that also monitors the industry.

Last year, the single-vehicle company called New Classic Limousine & Coach Services was forced out of business when it was discovered that then-president, owner and sole operator, Hardyal Singh Dhanoa, had been convicted of three criminal offences while operating his party bus service. These included dangerous driving, possession of a weapon, and assault with a weapon, according to a document on the Passenger Transportation Board’s website.

Vanderkuip’s department brought this information to the attention of the board last June, and the board found that Dhanoa had failed to acknowledge his criminal record when applying for special licensing under the new regulations. They then issued a directive to cancel the licence, effectively forcing New Classic to shut down. (The company still has a website and an active phone number, but refused to comment.)

Ranji Virk, the manager of Time Limo, a Vancouver company, says that single-vehicle operators like New Classic are among those most affected by the province’s new regulations. Virk’s company has a total fleet of 20 vehicles, including vans, SUVs, stretch limousines and 3 party buses. He says the new rules have had very little impact on his business.

But he also says he’s not sure how effective the changes have actually been, and believes the department isn’t diligent enough. “They’re not really tracking, I can tell you right now,” he says. As for audits from the department, Time Limo hasn’t seen one in “many years.”

The efficacy of the new regulations has come into question lately, after a 23-year-old woman died when she fell out of a moving party bus in downtown Vancouver, just over two months ago.

According to Virk, that incident points to an issue that the department isn’t addressing: where the party buses come from. Many of the vehicles operating in Canada are modified shuttle buses manufactured in the U.S. The vehicles don’t always comply with Canadian safety standards, says Virk, but they manage to get across the border anyways.

“Those vehicles are not allowed in Canada, but those vehicles are in Canada,” he says. “They don’t track that.”

PartyBuses-Nuttle-briefing-notes

Admin_Penalty-Part-1_Enforcement

Direction-to-Cancel-a-Licence

ATIP-requests

Vancouver-Nuttle-Reply

Vancouver-Nuttle-Request

BC-Nuttle-Reply

Federal-Nuttle-Receipt

Bc.Prev.Rel-Nuttle-Docs

BC.Prev.Rel-Nuttle-letter