Canadians are being asked for their input on proposed legislation that would strengthen safeguards against identity theft and include measures aimed at helping victims of such crimes. The Consumers Measures Committee, a committee comprised of federal, provincial, and territorial consumer protection representatives, has launched a public consultation on identity theft. The background paper identifies several […]

The Environmental Law Clinic (ELC) has asked B.C.’s Information and Privacy Commissioner to conduct a Public Inquiry into whether government discriminates against environmental groups that request government documents under the province’s Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. ELC student Scott Giesbrecht made the request on June 23, 2005 on behalf of Sierra Legal Defence Fund and […]

The level of concern and demand for consent on cross-border sharing of personal information is extremely high amongst Canadians, according to an EKOS Research Associates survey commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Approximately 90 percent of Canadians surveyed wish to not only be informed but insist on governments and the private […]

Canada’s information watchdog leveled a blistering attack at the federal government in his annual report tabled Monday. John Reid said: A “deep distrust” of the federal freedom-of-information law remains entrenched within government. The government’s proposed whistleblowing legislation for the public service is actually a legal instrument for covering up alleged government wrongdoing for periods of […]

Canadians using freedom of information laws to find out how government decisions are affecting their daily lives are very likely to be denied, according to a national audit by the Canadian Newspaper Association. The CNA study found that while the federal government as well as Canada’s provinces and territories all have freedom of information legislation, […]

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has launched an examination of the cross-border flow of personal information hastened by the war on terror. The commissioner’s first-ever such audit will focus on information about Canadians that’s being sent to United States security agencies via the Canadian Border Services Agency. Read the Ottawa Citizen article

CALGARY – Premier Ralph Klein’s government has been named the “most secretive government body in Canada” by the country’s leading journalism association. At its annual awards ceremony this past weekend, the Canadian Association of Journalism voted the Government of Alberta the winner of its Code of Silence Award, for its handling of a Freedom of […]

The Canadian Association of Journalists has nominated the B.C. government for its annual awards recognizing “the most secretive government agency in Canada”. The B.C. government was nominated for a series of actions that have undermined the province’s freedom of information laws. The CAJ news release states, “After taking power in 2001, the Liberals steadily cut […]

In their 2001 “New Era” platform, the BC Liberals promised to bring in “the most open, accountable and democratic government in Canada.” Research by FIPA shows that the Liberal government has done much more to erode open government during their four years in office than they have done to enhance it. In fact, they have […]

The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association was joined by four other public interest groups today as it released a report taking the BC government to task for failing to live up to its “New Era” promise to deliver open and accountable government. The FIPA report is a preview of a major study to […]

Here is the response from the BC Liberal Party to our election survey on freedom of information and privacy issues for 2005. Download (pdf).

FIPA sent a letter on May 4 to the Leaders of BC’s three leading political parties, asking them to clearly state their positions on a wide range of issues concerning freedom of information. We are deeply concerned with the 10-year decline in access to government information that has occurred under the last NDP and current […]