The goal of a making government transparent is very important to us at the BC Action Party. This falls in direct contrast to every other political party in British Columbia, since transparency could (and should) result in criticism, analysis and ultimately judgement in the public forum, and this can create paranoia and fear. However, we welcome that since all governing decisions should be made for the greater good of the province. To improve transparency, we propose the following:
Minimum of 80 Days sitting in the BC Legislature:
In recent years the session has been as long as 53 days and as short as 36 days. This is simply not acceptable. In an adversarial parliamentary system, the opposition has a right to question the government, the system is structured for the best level of accountability. Therefore, setting a minimum number of legislative days, and giving the opposition the time it needs to question, is in the best interest of British Colombians.
Open Bid Process:
We propose to create an open bid process since we are dedicated to ensure that the BC taxpayer gets the best value for the tax dollars spent. This will be achieved by opening all bids for scrutiny upon a set period of time after completion. Bidders will be given the option to redact their names before publication, though the winning bidder of course will have to waive that right.
For the tender process to work there has to be complete secrecy but once the bid process has been completed, information, and indeed the decision process, should be documented and also made public.
If a potential bidder is ever prohibited from bidding, they should be informed why on request. This also will help make the bidding system more open.
Document Retention:
E-mails and indeed all other government communications should be electronically archived and never erased.
The only exceptional cases where full transparency would be withheld are cases where sensitive information could affect public safety. However, all e-mails and communications would still be archived and made public when considered safe.