Update: Thank you to all who expressed interested in this workshop! FIPA will be celebrating this year’s Right To Know Week by hosting another of our highly-acclaimed workshops on filing Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Join us in Vancouver on Tuesday, September 29th for FOI 101, and learn the basic practical skills needed to start tackling […]

The following is a joint statement sent to Canada’s major federal parties, and signed by FIPA alongside a number of other organizations interested in improving Canada’s access to information system. Read on to learn more, or read the press release at cjfe.org. The deficit of trust between Canada’s voters and its elected officials has never been higher, […]

Many questions remain after Commissioner addresses FOI complaint relating to controversial Ministry of Health firings VANCOUVER, September 10, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is raising concerns that RCMP or other files could be left open indefinitely, thereby avoiding requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. […]

Download the full August 2015 Bulletin, or use the links below to read individual articles online. In this issue: Political Parties and Your Personal Privacy Where do the Parties Stand on Access to Information Reform? OIPC to B.C. Government: Yes, You Can Post Those Embarrassing Reports Hacked: Real-Life Stories of Connected Cars Gone Bad The TPP’s Threat […]

What does B.C.’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) have to do with international trade? One would expect that domestic laws that protect our information rights would have little to do with economic agreements, but deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are changing that. The TPP—a multinational trade agreement between the U.S., […]

Our groundbreaking report, The Connected Car: Who is in the Driver’s Seat?, released for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in March of this year, warned that data culled from these new, smarter vehicles could be misused by identity thieves, voyeurs, stalkers and others with malicious intent. The report concludes that we need to get […]

In the April issue of the Bulletin, we described our complaint about the B.C. Government’s odd excuse for failing to post two embarrassing reports online: they claimed that they were simply complying with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In response to our complaint, the Office of the B.C. Information and […]

As Canadians prepare to vote in the upcoming federal election, we at FIPA are working to determine where political parties stand on key access to information issues. Together with Newspapers Canada and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we’ll be asking parties to describe what they will do to repair and improve transparency policies and practices, and […]

How can federal political parties use your personal information? Unfortunately, in Canada the answer is ‘any way they see fit.’ You read that correctly: Unlike most public or private organizations in this fair nation—whether public, private, non-profit, for-profit, professional or volunteer run— federal political parties are not governed by any privacy-specific legislation. And as parties […]

Download letter now Letter from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner in response to BC FIPA’s complaint about the BC government refusing to post reports.

VANCOUVER, August 5, 2015 – The Office of the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) has confirmed that the BC government is not prevented by law from posting reports that contain personal information. This follows the BC government’s claim that their refusal to post certain “embarrassing” reports online was based on restrictions in the Freedom […]

Information Commissioner says other ministries should also look for information that must be released in public interest VANCOUVER, July 2, 2015 – In a major report released this morning, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has gone beyond simply telling the BC Government to re-examine its files for information to be released surrounding the Mount […]