FIPA report calls for a new way to understand whether B.C.’s freedom of information system is working.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Victoria, B.C. 2026.06.18 — The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is releasing Drawing Access Together, a report based on over three years of research into the province’s freedom of information (FOI) systems.   The report finds that most public bodies do not maintain documented standards […]

The federal government has rammed the controversial Lawful Access Act through Parliament despite massive opposition. June 18, 2026, OTTAWA – Twenty-one civil liberties organizations, privacy groups and individual experts are deeply alarmed that, late last night, the federal government cut off debate at the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security on the very […]

The lawyer for former Calgary mayor Jyoti Gondek is arguing police have no reason to hold onto her phone any longer as they investigate her and others for municipal corruption. “An admission that there is no timeline, that there’s no capability, there’s not specific step plan for this phone within the year is the opposite […]

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) — Fifteen countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Pacific adopted a declaration on Wednesday to step up efforts to combat illegal fishing, a practice that experts say costs the world economy up to $50 billion annually. The Mombasa Declaration, named after the Kenyan city hosting the 11th Our Ocean […]

Police in some of Quebec’s largest metropolitan regions have handed out thousands of fines over the past six years to citizens for allegedly hurling insults at officers or other municipal officials, according to internal data obtained by The Canadian Press.  Quebec City police have largely driven these numbers, issuing 11,092 fines between April 1, 2020, […]

June 17, 2026, OTTAWA–The adoption of Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, without necessary amendments presents a new and significant risk to Charter rights and civil liberties of all people in Canada, including those communities that the government wishes to help protect, says a Canadian civil liberties coalition. The ICLMG has observed with distress the […]

June 16, 2026, OTTAWA – A civil liberties coalition is raising concerns that the government’s new Safe Social Media Act, Bill C-34, will serve as a backdoor to broaden the definition of terrorism, introduce a new definition of violent extremism, and expand what could be considered a terrorism offence. The inclusion of these new definitions […]

Civil Society calls on Federal Political Leaders to Bring their Parties Under Privacy Law. More than thirty-five organizations, experts, and civil society groups are calling on Canada’s federal leaders to close a major gap in privacy protection by bringing federal political parties under Canada’s privacy laws. June 17, 2026 – In an open letter addressed to […]

The federal government wants to be “super careful” as it tackles surveillance pricing, Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon said after tabling the government’s new privacy bill. Under the plan outlined by Solomon, those rules on surveillance pricing are unlikely to be in place before 2028. “It’s very easy to say just ban using personal information […]

A judge has dismissed a last-ditch legal effort to temporarily halt the closures of two supervised consumption sites in Alberta, citing a similar effort to stall another shuttered site. Lawyer Avnish Nanda applied for an injunction in April to pause the closures  in Calgary and in Lethbridge, as he pursues an ongoing lawsuit challenging the […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is further dismantling the Education Department, moving oversight of special education and civil rights to other agencies. The Department of Justice will take on enforcement of civil rights in education, while the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education. The Trump administration made the announcement […]

June 15, 2026 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) thanks the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada for the opportunity to make submission for the 2025 Access to Information Act Review.   The following submission was drafted by FIPA and submitted to the Treasury Board Secretariat.   We want to thank our 2026 UVic Law Co-op Legal Researcher, Pascale Grenier, […]