Massey Tunnel replacement project FOI returns 'no records'

On the heels of a stinging report by B.C.'s privacy commissioner about the triple deletion of provincial government records related to the Highway of Tears, a Delta man is wondering what happened to information on the George Massey Tunnel replacement decision. 

Ian Robertson, a retired professional engineer, wanted to know how the government chose a bridge to replace the Massey Tunnel over the four other options that were on the table.

Premier Christy Clark made the bridge announcement at the 2013 Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, but when Robertson filed a freedom of information request he was stunned with the response that "no records were located."

"Humourously I speculated that maybe the premier made the decision in the midst of her morning shower on the way to UBCM because she didn't have anything else to say," said Robertson.

The 10-lane bridge will replace the congested 60-year-old tunnel between Richmond and Delta along Highway 99. Construction is slated to begin in 2017 and will cost an estimated $3-billion.

"This is a multi billion dollar project," said Robertson. "They're going to replace a four lane tunnel with an eight to 10 lane bridge so someone has to have done some thinking at some point somewhere along there to get there." 

Not the first time

Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington said she was also told there were "no records" after her office made an FOI request to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure for ten years of records relating to the Massey Tunnel replacement project.

"Government information is becoming an endangered species in this province," stated Huntington.

Robertson feels the "no records" report highlights a worrying trend in the way government handles information.

"There's clearly a process going on behind the curtain and it's not being exposed to the public," he said.