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 […]

In today’s Vancouver Sun, FIPA’s Executive Director Vincent Gogolek teams up with Michael Vonn of the BCCLA and Shannon Daub of the CCPA to push back against the BC Government’s election advertising ‘gag law.’ Meant to keep big money advertising out of election campaigns, the law misses the mark, and ends up crushing small spenders […]

Election advertising law doesn’t just limit big spenders – small spenders get tangled in complicated rules that undermine democratic debate. Instead of re-introducing controversial “pre-campaign” limits, the provincial government should focus on fixing other problems in BC’s third party election advertising rules – problems that created a chill effect in the lead-up to the 2009 […]

BC’s Minister of Social Development Stakes Government’s Reputation on Safety and Privacy of new Integrated Case Management System Controversy is growing over the BC government’s new $182 million Integrated Case Management (ICM) system now being rolled out across BC. The ICM system will create a database of unprecedented scope and detail about the lives of […]

We may be small but we have a big reach! Read all about the extent of FIPA’s work in our Annual Report for 2011 (pdf).

In this issue: FIPA, allies call for public inquiry into integrated case management system Federal information commissioner announces ATIA consultations New ID theft support centre launched INFO SUMMIT 2012 – September 19, 2012 BC Government finally releases $300 million IBM contract Commissioner Denham launches section 25 investigation after FIPA, ELC complaint Staff changes and new […]

In this issue: Big Challenges ahead for Freedom of Information and Privacy Government reaches a new low in FOI avoidance FIPA calls for penalties when government abuses FOI process FOIPPA Amendments pave way to unprecedented sharing of personal information BC government abandons e-Health Act, issues Health Minister a free pass to collect personal health information […]

Canada’s federal government should take all steps necessary to ensure he standards and values behind Canadian privacy laws are not diminished as programs to fulfill the Canada-US perimeter security action plan aredeveloped, say Canada’s privacy guardians. Recommendations made by the federal Privacy Commissioner in a June 2011 submission to government are not addressed in the […]

BC FIPA and the BCCLA have sent their comments on proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In line with BC FIPA’s commitment with transparency, these comments were submitted in lieu of confidential participation in the consultation process. The Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services, and Open Government is proposing […]

In this update: Conservatives hit hard by backlash against online spying bill – a privacy issue that has rung the bell with a majority of Canadians. Read the update (pdf).