“No responsive records” systematically used by Government to avoid releasing documents in Freedom of Information requests VANCOUVER— The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is concerned that the alleged destruction of email records related to missing women on the Highway of Tears is a new and disturbing part of an ongoing trend by […]

Follow us on Twitter and retweet our response to Harper’s retroactive attack on access to information. For more, read our letter to Stephen Harper.  

FIPA’s 2014 Annual Report is online! Read about our work this past year here.

Click here to watch an excerpt of a presentation by lead author Pippa Lawson at the launch of “The Connected Car: Who is in the Driver’s Seat.”    

New report by BC FIPA takes a hard look at how our cars are watching us Our cars have changed. Once simply a means of traveling from point A to B, cars are increasingly capable of astonishing computerized feats. New “Connected Cars” are essentially computers on wheels whose functions include navigation, diagnosing vehicle health, monitoring […]

In a 2-1 ruling handed down April 23, the BC Court of Appeal has upheld an earlier decision which found that although third party ‘advertising’ provisions of the Election Act violated the Charter, they could still be justified. The law makes something as simple as putting a handwritten sign in your window during the election […]

Nobody likes going public with embarrassing reports, but the B.C. government has conjured some of its most creative legal analyses yet in an attempt to keep less flattering information out of the public realm. The B.C. government has refused to post both the McNeil report, which examines the mysterious Ministry of Health data breach firings, […]

It took two years, but the records requested by FIPA in 2012 regarding contracts and other records related to the mysterious Ministry of Health data breach case have finally been released and are posted on our website. FIPA had requested the following information: Data sharing and other agreements involving the Ministry and four named individuals; […]

When the Senate passed Bill S-4, known as the Digital Privacy Act, in 2014, it was not without criticism. The bill’s stated objective was to protect online privacy, but critics warned that it may facilitate access to subscriber data held by internet service providers. Despite a Supreme Court ruling requiring police to obtain warrants to […]

FIPA’s bulletin has a new look. Download the full May 2015 bulletin here or click on individual articles below. In this issue: The Connected Car: Who is in the driver’s seat? FIPA’s AGM on May 13th: With guest speaker Carmen Cheung on Bill C-51 Bill C-51: An attack on privacy B.C. Election Act court challenge […]

The final vote on Bill C-51 is expected early next week, and the Conservative majority is expected to pass the legislation. Here’s a quick way to get informed: Learn more about the negative impacts of Bill C-51 by downloading Open Media’s new guide, Bill C-51 – A Primer (PDF) Read FIPA’s Bulletin article on Bill […]

Bill C-51 continues its high speed trip through Parliament, rocketing through the Commons and now being rushed through the Senate. This bill has generated a level of controversy since its introduction in parliament, reminiscent of the outrage that accompanied the much-despised online spying bill brought in by former Public Safety minister Vic Toews. The government’s […]