# Source note — B.C. Government Directory public-access shutdown

User-provided Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EcZywJ1FX/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Resolved Facebook video URL: https://www.facebook.com/stevekoonermla/videos/1583904503355754/
Facebook uploader metadata: Steve Kooner
Video title/description: The NDP just shut down the B.C. Government Directory, a basic public resource that has existed since the 1930s.

For decades, British Columbians could see the size of the bureaucracy and how their government was structured. That transparency is now gone. At the exact moment the NDP is running record deficits and ballooning the public payroll, they have decided to hide the details from the people who pay the bills.

Their cybersecurity and privacy excuse is weak. Other governments protect personal information without blacking out the entire structure of the public service. This is not about security. It is about reducing scrutiny.

A government that spends this recklessly and piles on debt this quickly has no right to operate in greater secrecy. The NDP is deliberately closing the public’s window into government when accountability is needed most. This is an attack on basic transparency, 
Recovered runtime: 156.366 seconds
Recovered view count: 5358

## Primary/current source

Official B.C. Directory notice captured from https://dir.gov.bc.ca/info.html. The notice says the Government of British Columbia has restricted public access to strengthen cybersecurity and protect employee privacy; public access to the B.C. Government Directory is no longer available; internal access remains available for government IDIR users; public users are directed to Services A-Z, Service BC and government media contacts.

## Video transcript

The downloaded captions identify the segment as a Global News-style report by Jordan Armstrong. It says the public previously could see who worked in each department and contact information; Global used the directory in February to tally 152 ministerial public affairs officers/managers/directors; the report says several other provinces still had directories in some form, and quotes the official cyber-threat/RCMP rationale and opposition/open-government criticism.

## Limits

NewsForBC preserved metadata, thumbnail and transcript. The article does not publish the full third-party TV news clip; it links the Facebook source and publishes transcript/source excerpts for context.


## Update — Steve Kooner Instagram Reel DcNPU1zSWqH

Added August 19, 2026 after user provided: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcNPU1zSWqH/?igsi=MTA0NDZkaWppYmNzcA==

Recovered metadata identifies uploader `Steve Kooner` / channel `steve.kooner.mla`, runtime `None` seconds, with `558` likes and `122` comments at capture. The Reel caption says the NDP shut down the B.C. Government Directory and argues cybersecurity/privacy is a weak excuse for removing public visibility into government structure.

The full MP4 is preserved as `instagram-steve-kooner-DcNPU1zSWqH-full-video.mp4`. A faster-whisper transcript and browser-visible capture are also preserved. The Reel appears to be a repost or screen-record of a Global News segment/headline about public access to the B.C. Government Directory.