Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has announced that her office has been examining the PRIME police database, following a complaint about PRIME to BC’s Solicitor General by the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA). BCCLA’s complaint states: “The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has discovered that as many as 85% of British Columbia’s adult population have […]

In this issue: ‘Open Government’ trend is heating up – Will there be light as well as heat? FIPA to Parliamentary committee: avoid ‘open government’ models that reduce citizens’ information rights Commissioner investigates so-called “Proactive Disclosure” policies BC Government goes to court again to contest release of full IBM contract FIPA welcomes new Minister for […]

RELEASING THE FULL $300 MILLION IBM CONTRACT WOULD END A SEVEN-YEAR LEGAL BATTLE AND BE A REAL DEMONSTRATION OF OPENNESS, SAYS FIPA Vancouver – BC’s new Minister for Open Government can take a big step toward real openness by routinely posting its multi-million dollar outsourcing contracts online, says the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy […]

BC FIPA sent a list of questions on freedom of information and privacy issues to the NDP leadership candidates. We received responses from Adrian Dix and John Horgan which you can download below.   Adrian Dix’ response (pdf). John Horgan’s response (pdf).

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is conducting an investigation and consultation into the practice of proactive disclosure of information by BC public bodies. The investigation was prompted by a FIPA complaint about BC Ferries’ controversial policy of posting records obtained through FOI requests on their website, along with the names of […]

BC FIPA has responded to the Infomation and Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into proactive disclosure. The Office of the Commissioner has asked for input through a questionnaire. Today FIPA has provided its answers to the questions, its comments on what constitutes a model proactive disclosure policy, as well as its recommendations on the practice of simultaneous […]

The scope of the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into BC Ferries’ FOI practices has been expanded to cover the whole B.C. government’s proactive information release policy. Any interested persons may submit their views on this topic to the Commissioner’s office, by the end of Friday, March 11, 2011. Submissions may follow the format […]

A current trend by politicians and bureaucrats to embrace electronic ‘Open Government’ initiatives may not empower citizens to demand the specific information they want, says FIPA’s new Executive Director, Vincent Gogolek. Rather, it may divert government from making long-overdue improvements to Canada’s Access to Information system. Gogolek appeared before the Standing Committee on Access to […]

By CHAD SKELTON VANCOUVER SUN February 3, 2011 [Excerpts] The B.C. government says it will soon begin posting records it releases in response to Freedom of Information requests on its website – a move it says will improve transparency but critics fear could discourage requests. The government’s move comes just month after BC Ferries, which […]

BC FIPA presented its submission on ‘Open Government’ to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI). We have to ensure that overdue moves toward more routine release and the use of technology to make government information more widely available must also make this information useable for all Canadians. […]

The government of British Columbia has appealed a decision by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordering release of the complete IBM Workplace Services contract. The government’s petition for judicial review will be their second trip to BC Supreme Court in an attempt to withhold all or part of the $500 million IBM […]

Dean Beeby Ottawa- The Canadian Press Jan. 09, 2011 A new study ranks Canada dead last in an international comparison of freedom-of-information laws – a hard fall after many years being judged a global model in openness. The study by a pair of British academics looked at the effectiveness of freedom-of-information laws in five parliamentary […]