Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, February 7th. Late breaking this week: Bill C-4, Part 4, is heading toward a unique Senate committee. It is not too late to contact Senators or your MP. You’ll find links in the show notes. We’ll be following developments closely.  This week, access-to-information requests continue to expose deep accountability gaps. From millions in […]

One of the goals behind Access & Privacy Online has always been practical: to surface significant access to information and privacy stories as they unfold. The podcast was designed as a monitoring and learning tool, helping listeners track developments across Canada and internationally, and understand how those stories connect to broader questions of accountability, surveillance, […]

March 3rd to 5th 2026 sees FIPA at the 28th Annual Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit (VIPSS). The theme of this year’s summit is, “Trust, Transparency & Transformation: Governing Artificial Intelligence“. If you’re responsible for digital trust, security, privacy, governance or leadership – VIPSS 2026 is where you need to be. We’re back in force […]

On February 2nd, 2026, the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group sent the following comments to the federal government in the context of their 30-day consultation on their proposed Regulations for the Foreign Interference Transparency and Accountability Act (FITAA): Concerns The Foreign Influence Transparency and Accountability Regulations as currently drafted fail to clarify some key aspects of the […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 31st. This week, artificial intelligence is colliding with privacy, democracy, and public trust — from Google’s move to fold personal data directly into AI-powered search, to renewed federal plans for an online harms bill that could reshape how Canadians — especially children — experience the […]

Today, January 29th, 2026, we remember the victims of the deadly 2017 attack on the Quebec City Mosque: Mamadou Tanou Barry, Ibrahima Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane, and Azzeddine Soufiane, along with the survivors, including Aymen Derbali, and their loved ones. Today also marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action Against Islamophobia, […]

Following widespread criticism of various aspects of Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act, the government introduced Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, in October 2025. Although presented as a solution, C-12 fails to answer any of those concerns. Instead, it only serves to fast-track provisions undermining the rights of refugees and migrants, while allowing […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 24th. This week, we’re tracking a sharp escalation in surveillance and enforcement powers — from a B.C. municipality openly challenging a privacy watchdog’s authority, to U.S. immigration officers asserting the right to enter homes without a judge’s warrant.  We’re also looking at how access-to-information requests continue to expose […]

Bill C-4 Part 4 brief Bill C-4 An Act respecting certain affordability measures for Canadians and another measure was introduced on June 5th 2025. This Finance bill’s other measure is a series of amendments to the Canada Election Act in Part 4. Part 4 of Bill C-4 is a direct attack on the privacy of […]

January 21, 2026 – The People’s Consultation on AI launches today, a collaborative civil society initiative created in response to the federal government’s failure to provide a meaningful consultation process during the development of a national AI strategy in October 2025. In 2025, the government hastily assembled a task force to develop its AI national […]

The People’s Consultation on AI, launched on January 21, 2026, is a collaborative civil society initiative created in response to the federal government’s failure to provide a meaningful consultation process during the development of a national AI strategy in October 2025. In 2025, the government hastily assembled a task force to develop its AI national […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 17th. We’re starting the year with a heavy focus on access to information, and what happens when transparency fails, or is actively resisted. This week, access requests uncover troubling gaps in domestic-violence prosecutions in Nunavut, reveal why a Parks Canada boat ban blindsided communities in Manitoba, and expose how […]