Removal is ‘very serious transparency issue,' says B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner
Stakeholders ranging from a provincial charity to the small business lobby to B.C.'s own privacy commissioner are pushing back against the government's decision to take its public employee directory offline.
The B.C. government directory – which allowed the public to search individual government employees' names, emails and phone numbers – is no longer available online, CBC News reported. The directory has been published in some form since at least 1930 and began appearing online in 2007, according to Black Press Media reporting.
Ryan Stuart, community engagement lead with the Outdoor Recreation Council of B.C., said the directory had been essential for reaching the right officials.
"It was really valuable to be able to go online and be able to find … an actual person I can call or email and say, 'Here's my problem, are you the right person?'" he told the CBC.
Many of the council's member groups are volunteer-run and now must route inquiries through general mailboxes, which Stuart described as feeling like a "black hole."
Ryan Mitton of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) told the Chilliwack Progress, that the change removes a layer of accountability and reduces transparency, describing it as a "fortress mentality" that disadvantages business owners waiting on permits or needing to reach government decision-makers directly. Mitton said larger companies that can afford professional lobbyists already have the contacts they need, whereas a small business owner without those resources "is on a completely different footing."
Directory removed over cybersecurity concerns
The B.C. Ministry of Citizen Services said in a statement to CBC News that "cyber threat actors" had been exploiting the directory, adding that AI tools now make it "faster and easier to harvest public information and create more convincing, targeted messages and scripts." The ministry said law enforcement partners, including the RCMP, advised the government to take the directory down.
The RCMP's federal policing Pacific region told CBC News that investigators had identified a vulnerability that could expose sensitive employee information, potentially aiding phishing campaigns or further cyber-intrusion attempts.
Recently, the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto (SickKids) disclosed a cybersecurity incident that compromised the personal information of current and former employees
Ottawa released an updated National Cyber Security Strategy in January 2025.
Government plans updated directory
B.C.'s information and privacy commissioner, Michael Harvey, called the removal a "very serious transparency issue," telling CBC News that "our public bodies, they're paid for by public funds and they are accountable to the public and they must remain so."
Harvey noted that employee contact information is not classified as private personal information under B.C. legislation.Harvey said removing the directory would erode public trust rather than protect it, and urged the government to find a solution balancing privacy, security and openness.
The ministry told CBC News it plans to publish an updated directory listing contact information for senior executives across all government ministries, while directing the public to general ministry, service and media contacts instead of individual employees.
