The management of information on climate change-related disasters in British Columbia

Canadians now experience climate change-amplified disasters, such as floods, fires, and extreme heat. Networks of laws and regulation, unbeknownst to researchers in most disciplines as well as much of the public, play a role in shaping what information about climate disaster impacts is produced, shared, kept confidential, and used by Canadian governments. Our article offers a framework for identifying, describing, and assessing government information systems. We use this framework to describe different ways that Canadian laws, regulation, and policy manage information about climate disaster impacts in British Columbia. Understanding these laws, regulations and policies as part of a system of information management reveals significant deficiencies which, in turn, impede public understanding of climate disaster impacts. We illustrate the practical implications of these deficiencies with our experience as members of a team designing a B.C. Atlas of Disaster. Our hope is that this framework and our application of it to climate disaster impacts will enable interdisciplinary researchers, policymakers, emergency management practitioners, and ultimately the public, to better understand and improve how law structures the production, retention, sharing, and use of government information.