Re: “B.C. records piling up in warehouse: report,” July 23.
The provincial government’s shameful neglect of our provincial archives for the last decade is a travesty.
Governments at all levels have a duty to maintain public records in an accessible and secure manner. Our taxes pay for the work that goes into creating these documents, and citizens have the right to expect that elected officials will provide sound stewardship of historically relevant information. We should not have to file freedom-of-information requests to obtain non-confidential materials that would be readily available if a proper archive system were in place.
We have seen past incidents of careless record-keeping, such as Carrier Lumber, that resulted in government paying significant legal damages at taxpayer expense. The current lax approach to the archives makes it more likely that similar lapses will occur in the future. I urge the government to act on privacy commissioner Elizabeth Denham’s recommendations without delay.
Erik Kaye
Victoria
