Obtained by theBreaker.

news via Freedom of Information

 Request for OIPC FOI Processing Extension
Purpose

This submission illustrates some of the impacts BC’s COVID-19 (C-19) Public Health Emergency has had
and continues to have on the ability of the regional health authorities and the Provincial Health Services
Authority (PHSA) (collectively “the health authorities”) to meet obligations to process and respond to
requests for corporate 1 related records made pursuant to the Freedom of Information and Protection of
Privacy Act (FOIPPA) within legislated timelines. It outlines the rationale for requesting from the Office of
the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) legislative relief in the form of an additional extension
of 60 days beyond the Freedom of Information processing timelines noted in the April 22, 2020 OIPC
Statement.

Executive Summary

• Greater Volume – Since the beginning of C-19, some FOI offices in the health authorities have
seen a significant increase in FOI requests (e.g., Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) has
had 50 new requests since February 1, all of which are still open files).
• Greater Complexity – C-19 requests are mostly from the media, unions and political groups. The
requests are very broad in nature (retrieval from literally hundreds of sources).
• Multiple Reviews – High number of complex files requiring multiple reviews (2nd and often 3rd) to
ensure consistency of severing and engagement with internal and third-party external
stakeholders during processing.
• Staff Redeployment – Some staff were redeployed to assist with C-19. This has resulted in
challenges for processing of requests by FOI staff as well as obtaining responsive records from
respective program areas. Further, there are challenges with remote working that add to the
ability for obtaining responses from areas that can assist with responding to a request.
• Additional Time-Consuming Requests – Health authorities are still managing pre-C-19 high
caseload volumes and responding to the full scope of non-C-19 FOI requests that are equally time-
consuming and sensitive in nature (e.g., environmental/public health and safety records, HPA
professional infraction investigations, long-term care licensing requests and service contracts).
• Release of Information and Transparency – The health authorities are releasing information to
the public outside of the FOI process via information resource pages, social media accounts,
virtual town halls, and releasing statistical regional information related to C-19 counts.
• Our Commitment – The health authorities are committed to continue working on all of the FOI
requests with the goal to respond as quickly as possible despite any extensions granted.

Complexity and Cross-Sector Scope of Requests

Over the last few months, FOI teams have seen a high number of complex files that require multiple
reviews (second and often third) to ensure consistency of severing and engagement with internal and
external stakeholders during processing (e.g., responsive records related to active litigation or other types
of judicial/quasi-judicial activities).

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This does NOT address impacts to or processing statistics related to first party requests for Health records

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 Since the introduction of BC’s Phase 2 Restart Plan, FOI staff have been receiving C-19 related requests
from interest groups such as media, unions and political groups. These requests are voluminous, complex
and involve records retrieval from literally hundreds of sources in one instance. They also involve cross
health sector engagement and coordination of requests to ensure consistency and currency of responses
in a C-19 environment that is constantly changing, even on a daily basis.

These requests include records associated with PPE shortages and allocations, surgical and other care and
treatment impacts, staff scheduling impacts, staff and patient safety impacts, staffing models, emergency
management clinical and business decisions, restart plans and impacts, C-19 identification and location of
positive patients, staff, families and caregivers and other related issues. All of these collectively create a
highly complex and time-consuming process of clarification, coordination, stakeholder engagement,
clinical consultation and so on, that has and is continuing to materially impact and extend the FOI staff
processing time to manage each request end-to-end.
s.21

Program Operations – Caseload Volume

Island Health

VIHA’s FOI team currently consists of 1.0 Manager and 2.0 FTE’s of FOI Analysts with casual FOI analysts
providing limited workload relief. Performance benchmarks such as team caseload capacity have been
analyzed (based on end-to-end processing activities, staffing complement, staffing days and industry best
practice) and set at a maximum carriage of 50 open files at any one time to meet legislative response
timelines.

The graph below depicts VIHA’s open caseload files for all corporate request types from January 1, 2020 -
June 8, 2020 and shows that while capacity was stable in January 2020, it has trended upwards, most
notably after the Phase 2 Restart Plan was initiated, to now a critical caseload level of 85 open files (~170%
over stable capacity).

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 Chart 1

Consistent with that caseload increase the following graph depicts that in the same six month timeframe
(January 1, 2020 - June 8, 2020) the average number of calendar days to close section 5 requests has
increased by 172%, most notably since April which coincides with the C-19 impacts noted in this
submission.

Chart 2

Further and notwithstanding C-19 requests, VIHA’s corporate request volumes have been materially
higher than other health authorities for several years. VIHA’s totals per annum have been climbing by
approximately 12% year over year – in last fiscal it processed 788 corporate requests which is consistent
with that upward trend.

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Program Operations – Request Volume

Northern Health Authority (NHA); Fraser Health Authority (FHA); Interior Health Authority (IHA); VCHA

VCHA, NHA, FHA and IHA have all also faced similar challenges during the pandemic. Given the nature of
the FOI requests, the program areas and individuals who are involved in dealing with the pandemic are
the ones required to search for and produce records. Their ability to comply with records searches in a
timely fashion is low given the current circumstances, and to do so would interfere with the operations of
each authority and its efforts to respond to the pandemic.

PHSA

As a provincial health authority, PHSA has faced similar yet distinct challenges from those encountered
by the regional health authorities.

PHSA File Volumes

Chart 3

PHSA considers files on the basis of FOI requests as including the following areas: FOI Requests (submitted
by an applicant); FOI Consultations (submitted by another public body); and FOI Transfers (submitted by
another public body). Since COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency in BC in March 2020, PHSA
has seen the following increases:
• 90% increase in the number of FOI requests received in the month of April over PHSA’s average
number of FOI requests received per month*;
• 187.8% increase in the month of May compared to that average;
• Based on the above we have projected (as of June 16, 2020) a 206.1% increase in the number of
FOI requests received for May, compared to that average.

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*Average: 16.33 per month – this is the average number of requests received per month – taken from
the totals for January, February, and March in 2020.

PHSA Program Areas impacted

A significant number of requests received impact PHSA Program Areas that are managing the pandemic
response directly due to the nature of their work; and are not used to seeing the volume of FOI requests
currently under review. To date, PHSA has received 57 C-19 FOI requests – the Program Areas most
affected are:

i. PHSA Supply Chain – this area manages annual spending on behalf of all six BC health authorities
covering all elements of supply chain including procurement, contracting, materials management,
purchasing, warehousing and distribution. It engages in the sourcing of all PPE supplies and as
such has been particularly affected by C-19. At this time 18/57, or 31.6% of C-19 FOI Requests fall
under this area. In total, looking at both C-19 and non-COVID FOI requests, as of June 16, 2020
this area has already received 28 FOI requests – this is an unprecedented volume for this area
which received 7 FOI requests in 2019.

ii. BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) – this area provides provincial and national leadership
in disease surveillance, detection, treatment and consultation and therefore has played a key role
in addressing C-19. 30/57, or 52.6% of C-19 FOI Requests fall under this area. BCCDC began
receiving FOI requests related to the pandemic in February 2020. As of June 16, 2020, this area
had received a total of 34 FOI requests which include C-19 and non-COVID FOI requests – again
this is also an unprecedented volume for this area which received 2 FOI requests in 2019.

For both Program Areas, the impact of responding to such a high volume of FOI requests is high
because staff are extremely busy often working overtime hours to address the issues brought on
by C-19 and taking time away from their work to engage in the search and retrieval of records on
so many FOI requests is creating difficulty, and an inability to respond to the PHSA FOI Office. On
a number of files, PHSA has not yet responded to C-19 FOI requests primarily because the Program
Areas are entirely focused on the public health response. The following chart reflects the increase
in FOI requests received by the two Program Areas named above.

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 Chart 4

PHSA Operations

We have considered the high volume of FOI requests in respect of our ability to respond in accordance
with existing timelines under FOIPPA, as well as the existing extension of timelines the OIPC has already
allotted to C-19 issues by providing for an additional extension to all public bodies. In general terms the
PHSA FOI Office considers a carriage of 18-25 FOI files (at times less/more depending on file substance)
to be a full workload for an FOI Advisor due to the amount of time engaged in detailed line by line review,
analysis, consultation, and application of the legislation to the records. At this time (June 16, 2020) the
PHSA FOI Office has 96 open FOI files. The FOI team currently consists of a Manager and 3 FOI advisors.
The FOI Office is struggling to meet PHSA’s obligations and we are experiencing a daily high volume influx
of FOI requests that is not allowing us time to catch up.

C-19 Phase 2 Restart

Since the BC Restart plan was introduced in May, there has been an influx of new FOI requests from
applicants now past the initial shock of the Phase 1 pandemic; many of which are voluminous and complex
in nature. Concurrent with that, internal staff have returned to their normal duties (having been re-
deployed elsewhere) and now there is an influx of records from previous records calls that were not able
to be provided within normal timelines due to C-19 staff redeployment.

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Remote Working

In response to the C-19 public health emergency being declared on March 17, 2020 and the health
authorities’ supporting pandemic response and planning activities, health authorities immediately
instituted a mandatory remote working strategy for all non-clinical staff effective mid-March 2020. This
change was immediate and required the development of new, or different, operational processes,
including the introduction and orientation to new virtual tools for some team members and recalibration
of business workflows to virtual workflows to support the continuation of core business activities,
including records requests, during this time.

This shift to virtual business workflows not only significantly impacted the health authorities and
temporarily altered their responsiveness and productivity, but also did so to other non-clinical and clinical
departments throughout the organizations – many of whom provide responsive records. The virtual
workflows have negatively impacted response times to applicants (e.g., applicants who require paper
responses must wait until a staff member can safely attend the office to mail their response).

There is no immediate plan for non-clinical staff to cease remote working, rather these processes will
continue for the remainder of the summer and fall 2020 at a minimum.

Program Staff Redeployment

In support of the pandemic effort, many staff who normally provide responsive records, as well as the FOI
staff, were quickly re-deployed elsewhere within the organization in order to meet urgent clinical and
operational requirements. This significantly reduced response times overall given that staff were not able
to address records calls and/or provide responsive records within normal timeframes.

Cumulative Effect on Health Authorities

The external and internal collision of new C-19 and non-C-19 FOI requests and the influx of previously
delayed responsive records for existing requests , has resulted in extremely high caseload volumes for
some health authorities, and complex requests for all of them, which have coalesced for processing all at
the same time. These pressures and impacts have occurred within the context of newly formed remote
working conditions, modified workflows and program area staff redeployment and FOI staffing shortages.

Furthermore, in some circumstances the same staff managing FOI requests at a health authority are also
responsible for consultations, complaints, breach investigation, Privacy Impact Assessments, Information
Sharing Agreements, OIPC mediations, support for Release of Information/Health Information
Management Services and privacy advice for their entire health authority.

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Proactive Release of Information – Enhancing Transparency

Information related to C-19 is being released to the public by the health authorities outside of the FOI
process. An example from VIHA, indicative to other health authorities, is provided below.

VIHA has created a central information resource page for members of the public

(https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19).

While the BCCDC is the source of truth for province-wide information, including current C-19 counts, VIHA
proactively releases statistical information related to C-19 counts within the VIHA region. Specifically,
VIHA publishes Health Service Delivery Areas (HSDA) data on a weekly basis

https://www.islandhealth.ca/sites/default/files/covid-19/documents/public-health-covid-dashboard-
june11.pdf.

In addition to the information described above, the “Learn About Health, COVID 19” resource page
provides general information, primarily consisting of links to other external resources such as the
Provincial Government (re: isolation and self testing), the Federal Government (re: travel advisories and
recommendations), the BCCDC, popular news outlets, Public Health Orders and advisories, etc. These
resources are the primary resources for the public; however, VIHA also has related stories on the Island
Health “MyStories” site and social media accounts and the VIHA “News Room”. Finally, VIHA has offered
two virtual town halls on April 21 and May 19, 2020 for the public to ask questions.

Request for Consideration

The health authorities have considered the aforementioned factors in respect of their ability to respond
in accordance with existing timelines under FOIPPA as well as the existing C-19 related extension of
timelines the OIPC has already allotted to all public bodies. We are thankful for this relief as it had a
partially mitigating effect on the impact of these other factors on meeting our legislative response times.
Specifically, and in spite of these other factors, the extensions enabled some health authorities to mostly
preserve the high quality of their response rates. E.g., from 97% within legislative timelines pre-C-19 to
90% current day at VIHA.

Notwithstanding that, given the nature of the public health emergency the health sector is one if not the
most highly impacted group of public bodies, certainly in terms of responding to and managing the
emergency. That impact extends to the natural outfall of such management activities, namely the current
and anticipated C-19 related records requests to health sector public bodies as applicants seek to dissect,
analyze and hold the health system accountable for the broader health and system impacts of C-19 on
British Columbia and its citizens.

It is in this evolving context, that the health authorities respectfully submit this request to the OIPC for a
further records processing and response extension of 60 days to be granted to the regional health
authorities and PHSA. Dr. Bonnie Henry’s current mantra is to “Minimize, Manage and Modify 2” the
impact of C-19 on our citizens and how we respond to it. The health authorities submit that this extends

2
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/video-dr-henry-says-bcs-goals-are-to-minimize-manage-modify-spread-of/

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to all teams, including FOI staff, who continue to work diligently behind the scenes to support and respond
to this emergency.

As this submission and its evidence supports, an extension will not prevent, or be a mechanism to
minimize or obfuscate our public accountability. Rather we seek an extension from the OIPC in order to
enable FOI leaders and staff to concertedly, collaboratively and responsibly manage applicants’ records
requests and to meet our legislative obligations to the best extent possible during this unprecedented
time.

Modifying our measures as needed by granting this extension will further serve a protective function for
our teams by enabling leaders to better manage risks associated with the critical workload demands now
being placed upon our valued staff, thereby creating a healthy and safer working environment within
which they can continue to offer the best possible FOI services to our citizenry.

Our Commitment

The health authorities are committed to continue to work on responding to FOI requests with the goal of
responding as quickly as possible despite any extensions granted. The health authorities are also prepared
to report on the status of FOI requests, should the OIPC wish to review those processes as part of its
approval in respect of this request for extension.

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s.21
s.21, s.22(1)
July 15, 2020 BY EMAIL

Sybila Valdivieso
Executive Director and Senior Legal Counsel
PHSA Legal Services, Vancouver, BC
e. Sybila.Valdivieso@phsa.ca

Dear Sybila Valdivieso:

Re: Request Time Extension (s.10)(2)(b)) – Provincial Health Services Authority

OIPC File: F20-83280

On June 26, 2020 the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) requested permission for a 60
day time extension under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) in
order to respond to 42 requests for records received between May 16 and June 30, 2020.

Under section 49 of FIPPA, the Commissioner has delegated authority to me to make decisions
about the time extensions requested by PHSA under section 10(2)(b).

PHSA is requesting permission to take a 60-day time extension for each file submitted on the
basis of sections 10(2)(b) of FIPPA.

Section 10(2)(b) provides:

10(2) In addition to the authority under subsection (1), with the permission of the commissioner,
the head of a public body may extend the time for responding to a request as follows:
...
(b) if the commissioner otherwise considers that it is fair and reasonable to do so, as the
commissioner considers appropriate.

Section 10(2)(b) is a discretionary section providing that the commissioner may extend the time
in circumstances where it is fair and reasonable to do so and allows the commissioner to
consider the full context of the processing of a request. The factors considered in a decision on
the basis of s. 10(2)(b) include the merits of the reasons for the request for an extension, the
efforts made by the public body to process the request within the original time limit, the public
body’s good faith in attempting to resolve whatever problems have interfered with the timely
processing of the request; and prejudice to other parties if an extension of time is granted.

I accept the COVID-19 pandemic has created extenuating circumstances for health authorities
as the public health emergency has had a high impact on the health sector. Health authorities
where staff redeployment or mandatory remote work has been instituted are experiencing
slower records searches. Access to information requests regarding COVID-19 can be complex
and can require significant coordination and the Health Authorities may have experienced
 Page 2 of 2

increased requests given the important role that the health sector is playing in the provincial
COVID response.

I have carefully reviewed the requests submitted by PHSA and have approved time extensions
where it is, in my view, appropriate based on the information submitted. I have attached the
table with a column indicating the time in days of any approval. An extension has not been
approved where the days are reflected as zero.

In summary, PHSA is authorized to take the additional days to respond as indicated in the
column titled “10(2)(b) extension days” of the attached table. The time extensions are
approved with the following terms:

1. The public body must comply with s. 10(3) of FIPPA and notify the applicant of this time
extension, provide reasons for the extension, and tell the applicant when a response can
be expected.

2. The public body must respond to the applicant as soon as possible with the responsive
records.

3. The public body should release records to the applicant in stages as its review
progresses. The public body should not delay releasing records merely to permit a "bulk
release" unless it is absolutely necessary for a global consideration of the disclosure
package.

If you have any questions about this decision please call me at (250) 387-0354

Sincerely,

Monique LeBlanc
Senior Investigator

Cc Cathy Yaskow, Director Information Stewardship, Access & Privacy, VIHA