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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

FIPA is excited to announce that the 2012 BC Information Summit will take place September 19th at UBC Robson Square. The event, entitled “This Time, It’s Personal: Freedom of Information and Privacy Under Government 2.0” will take a comprehensive look at the BC Government’s new “Government 2.0: Citizens @ The Centre” initiative, and what it […]

The day before the beginning of a long weekend in both Canada and the United States, our governments finally released perimeter security privacy protection principles that were supposed to have been completed on May 30. It really wasn’t worth the wait. You can see the full text of the document here. Adding irony to the […]

FIPA congratulates the Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre (CITSC) on the official launch of their victim support services! The Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre is a non-profit organization focused on assisting victims and potential victims of identity crimes. Experts work directly with victims and advise them on the step-by-step practices that will assist them in […]

There has been a lot of discouraging news on the FOI and privacy front recently as a raft of new legislation introduced in the last couple of weeks undercuts the law protecting our FOI and privacy rights. All four bills have been criticized by provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham in an unprecedented barrage […]

BC Supreme court justice Bracken has set down his ruling on a judicial review application sought by the Minister of Citizens Services in the ongoing dispute regarding disclosure of the IBM contract with the Ministry for “Workplace Support”: British Columbia (Minister of Citizens’ Services) v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner) 2012 BCSC 875 The […]