MEDIA RELEASEMarch 30, 2020 Ministry of Citizens’ Services relaxes restrictions on the use of third-party tools and applications to disclose personal information inside or outside of Canada VANCOUVER, March 30, 2020 – In the time of a global emergency, the protection of privacy and access to information rights needs to be kept at the forefront of […]

View full submission here. The context in which we understand privacy is shifting in the current landscape of big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. What was generally considered a broad topic with varying normative understandings is now at the forefront of debates and policy work as the varied stakeholders attempt to narrow its […]

Vancouver, February 24, 2020 – On February 18, 2020 the Legislative Assembly agreed that a Special Committee be appointed to review the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA deals with the collection, retention, use, and disclosure of personal information by private sector and nonprofit entities. The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (BC FIPA) […]

This is the third in our series on the privacy promises we can expect from a Liberal minority government. Information about the Right to Erasure is from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s ‘Digital Charter: Trust in a digital world’, and the Liberal Party of Canada’s election 2019 platform document, ‘Forward: A real plan for the middle […]

Vancouver, February 12, 2020 – The beginning of BC FIPA’s fourth decade is an exciting time for the organization as we welcome Jason Woywada as the new Executive Director. After an extensive search process, the hiring committee was pleased to offer the position to Jason for his unique combination of skills, knowledge, and experience. “Amongst […]

This is the second in our series on the privacy promises we can expect from a Liberal minority government. From Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s ‘Digital Charter: Trust in a digital world’, and the Liberal Party of Canada’s election 2019 platform document, ‘Forward: A real plan for the middle class’ (40). In Canada’s Digital Charter, data […]

Vancouver, December 18, 2019 –  Yesterday, LifeLabs announced a data breach that affects 15 million Canadians. The breach, which primarily impacts clients in BC and Ontario, includes highly sensitive personal information, like medical diagnostic test results and genetic information. The information was breached on October 28, 2019. LifeLabs has paid an unreported sum to cybercriminals […]

This is the first in our series on the privacy promises we can expect from a Liberal minority government. (From Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s ‘Strengthening Privacy for the Digital Age: Proposals to modernize the Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act’.)  1. Meaningful Consent One of the commitments to increase the powers […]

Privacy violations highlight the need for law reform Earlier this week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of B.C. (OIPC BC) and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released a joint investigation report that found a B.C. company violated B.C.’s provincial and Canada’s federal privacy laws. While conducting business on high-profile campaigns […]

Previously, we compared access to information and privacy commitments in the platforms of four of Canada’s major federal political parties. Now, we’ll take a look at what we can expect from a Liberal minority government. With the election results in, we now have greater clarity about how Canada will proceed with access to information and […]

By Stanley Tromp Stanley Tromp is a Vancouver independent journalist and author of the book Fallen Behind: Canada’s Access to Information Act in the World Context. Canada’s Access to Information Act of 1982 is an essential law that allows citizens and the media to obtain government records on many vital topics, such as health and […]

How Canada’s major federal political parties compare on issues related to privacy and access to information The table below uses publicly available information contained within the platforms of Canada’s four major political parties: the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Green Party. FIPA is a non-partisan organization and this chart […]