VICTORIA, B.C.: The Conservative Caucus of British Columbia today moved a six-month hoist of Bill 9, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026.

A hoist would set the bill aside for six months, effectively halting it for the session. Conservatives say that time should be used to consult British Columbians, define sweeping new powers left dangerously vague, and implement the recommendations of the 2022 all-party special committee that have sat on the shelf for four years.

Trevor Halford, Interim Leader of the Official Opposition, said Bill 9 deserves delay because it undermines transparency and accountability.

“When government makes it harder for people to access public records, it makes it harder for people to hold government accountable. Bill 9 is not about improving transparency, it is about giving the NDP government more tools to delay, deny, and discourage scrutiny. British Columbians deserve a government that opens the books, not one that writes new rules to keep them closed,” said Halford.

Halford noted the Minister tabled amendments to her own bill mid-debate, calling them “minor adjustments” for “additional clarity.”

“No government amends a bill that is ready. If two weeks of debate forced changes, six months of proper consultation can produce a bill British Columbians can trust,” said Halford.

Jody Toor, MLA for Langley-Willowbrook and Official Opposition Critic for Citizens’ Services, said the government’s case collapses under its own numbers. The Ministry’s FOIPPA annual report shows total access requests fell from 10,205 in 2020/21 to 7,063 in 2024/25, a drop of more than 30 per cent.

Despite that, Bill 9 creates broad new grounds to delay or refuse FOI requests, including requests deemed “abusive,” “malicious,” “repetitious,” or likely to “unreasonably interfere with operations,” without defining those terms.

“One session. Two bills. The same pattern,” said Toor. “Send it back. Do the work. Come back with a bill British Columbians can trust.”

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