As part of its Justice Forum Series, the DOXA Documentary Film Festival is putting on a screening and panel discussion of Friedrich Moser’s A Good American—which tells the story of William Binney, an ex-NSA intelligence official turned whistleblower—and FIPA has a pair of tickets to give away. Want to attend? To win the tickets, all […]

In response to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s call for input on online reputation and privacy, FIPA’s submission discusses some of the considerations we must make when we discuss the mitigation of online reputational risks, and the rights and interests we must seek to balance. Download submission.

On March 23, 2016, FIPA filed an intervention in response to BC Information and Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry into the Vancouver Police Department’s refusal to disclose records relating to their use of IMSI-catchers (“Stingrays”), in response to an FOI request from Pivot Legal Society. You can read the submission in full here. We argued that: “…the Applicant [Pivot] is entitled […]

George Gretes charged after failing to tell truth to Information and Privacy Commissioner under oath VANCOUVER, March 11, 2016 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is glad to see that George Gretes—a former Ministerial Assistant in the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure who wilfully deleted emails responsive to a Freedom […]

Download the full February 2016 Bulletin, or use the links below to read individual articles online. In this issue: The results are in! Poll shows BC favours a strong FOI system Will Trudeau get rid of Ottawa’s information black hole? Our challenge to BC’s Election Act in the Supreme Court of Canada Much ado about unverified claims […]

The Supreme Court of Canada will be hearing an important appeal coming out of Alberta regarding freedom of information rights, and FIPA has applied to take part in the hearing as an intervenor. The case began when the University of Calgary responded to a Freedom of Information request by refusing to release various records on […]

FIPA has been fighting against free speech restrictions in BC’s Election Act for years, and that battle will culminate in our upcoming appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada. This is an important case for freedom of speech during BC elections – and for setting the standard the government must meet in order to impose […]

It may be hard to believe, but Canada’s Access to Information Act (ATIA) contains a black hole where requested information can disappear without a trace. And that black hole is being fed more and more government information. In her annual report for 2015, Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault reported a surge in the use of section […]

FIPA recently commissioned some public opinion polling on BC’s freedom of information system. We worked with Ipsos, a leading independent market research company, to develop and pose four questions related to some of our key recommendations to the Special Committee reviewing BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). A total of 802 […]

FIPA recently commissioned some public opinion polling on BC’s freedom of information system. We worked with Ipsos, a leading independent market research company, to develop and pose four questions related to some of our key recommendations to the Special Committee reviewing BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). A total of 802 […]

BC FIPA-sponsored poll shows massive support for key reforms to information law VANCOUVER, February 1, 2016 – Polling results released today indicate British Columbians are overwhelmingly in favour of government officials having a ‘duty to document’, among other key reforms to access to information law. The Ipsos poll, commissioned by the BC Freedom of Information […]

FIPA wants Access to Information Act loophole closed VANCOUVER, December 8, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is deeply concerned by figures released today that show a significant increase in the use of the “Cabinet confidences” exclusion to deny records to Canadians requesting them. In her annual report released this afternoon, […]