FIPA is calling on Premier Christy Clark to call back the Legislature to amend election legislation the BC Court of Appeal has just declared unconstitutional. The government made a number of changes to the Election Act during the spring sitting, and then referred those changes to the Court of Appeal for an opinion on their […]

FIPA’s founding Executive Director and former President Darrell Evans was honoured with the Grace-Pepin Access to Information award at Wednesday’s BC Information Summit. Presented to Mr. Evans by Canada’s Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault and BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, the Grace-Pepin award recognizes Darrell’s life-long commitment to the principles of transparency, accountability and […]

According new research by FIPA, based on statistics published by the Chief Information Officer of BC, the last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of general FOI requests returned with ‘no responsive records.’ In a complaint to the Information and Privacy Commissioner, FIPA points out that overall non-responsive rates jumped from effectively […]

FIPA is excited that the 2012 BC Information is now mere days away. Join us Wednesday, September 19th at UBC Robson Square for what is certain to be an exciting and engaging day of discussion. This year, we’re proud to host an outstanding team of speakers and contributors including: -BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth […]

Responding to a recent complaint filed by FIPA regarding the BC Government’s failure to post approximately two thirds of completed FOI requests–against its own policy–BC Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham will be looking into the problem as part of her current evaluation of the province’s Open Government Initiative. In a letter to FIPA dated August 27th, […]

Only a year after announcing a number of open government initiatives to much fanfare, Christy Clark’s government is failing to meet its own standards for posting completed freedom of information requests. According to a complaint filed with the Information and Privacy Commissioner by FIPA, 67 percent of completed general FOI requests have not been posted […]

With controversy swirling around the Integrated Case Management system, and with the introduction of the “Smart CareCard” just around the corner, the upcoming BC Information Summit promises to be a timely examination of how information management is changing throughout this province. Our final conference lineup is now confirmed and we’re excited to announce some fantastic […]

BC FIPA filed an Intervener Factum on August 15, 2012 in the Reference concerning the constitutionality of amendments to provisions of in the Election Act, RSBC 1996, c. 106 regarding election advertising by third parties. BC FIPA argues that there should be a minimum spending threshold to trigger provisions in the Act requiring third parties […]

Following a scathing statement from the Representative for Children and Youth, and with the Privacy Commissioner and Auditor General also looking at the situation, several non-profit groups and privacy advocates have written to Premier Christy Clark seeking a public inquiry into the $200 million Integrated Case Management (ICM) project. The letter to the Premier is […]

BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has announced that she will be launching an investigation into a widespread failure by public bodies to comply with section 25 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. That section requires heads of public bodies to release information relevant to public health and safety or […]

Privacy concerns are snowballing about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information through police databases. On Wednesday, BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham released a report detailing her recent investigation into employment-related criminal record checks by the BC Government. In her report, Denham notes that approximately 85% of the government’s 33,500 employees must […]

BC’s Representative for Children and Youth has released a scathing statement expressing deep concerns over the effectiveness, security, and reliability of the BC Government’s pricey Integrated Case Management System. Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond doesn’t mince words in her statement, stating “I strongly believe that ICM is not adequate to provide safety to vulnerable children, youth […]