The Ministry of Labour and Citizens’ Services sought judicial review of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC (IPC) decision (F08-07) regarding the impact of third party review as part of the ongoing dispute over disclosure of the contract between the Ministry and IBM for computer services. Today, the BC Supreme Court confirmed that the […]

Opinion – Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun December 3, 2009 BC Information commissioner David Loukidelis is seeking a $400,000 legal budget to cover the growing number of court challenges to his rulings by the B.C. government and other public bodies. Loukidelis outlined his predicament in a recent presentation to the legislature finance committee, which vets the […]

By Lindsay Kines and Rob Shaw Canwest News Service A B.C. government employee remained on the job for seven months after police searched his Victoria home and discovered the personal information of 1,400 income-assistance clients. But government ministers were unable to say Wednesday what the employee’s responsibilities were or what kind of access he continued […]

FIPA is calling on the Liberal government to give the Special Committee reviewing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act the full year the law provides, instead of the eight months it just set out in the terms of reference for the committee. The Act provides that the committee must not take more […]

The Electronic Commerce Protection Act (Bill C-27) is the Canadian anti-spam bill that comes out of committee on Wednesday October 21st. The opposition Liberals have proposed amendments which appear to have been drafted by copyright and telecom lobbyists. They would allow for surreptitious installation of computer programs and – even more outrageously – would allow […]

BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act is about to receive a legislative review for the third time in its history. A Special Committee of the Legislature has been struck, and it is expected to have its first meeting soon. There will be no shortage of issues for the MLAs to deal with […]

Parliament should take a cautious approach to legislative proposals to create an expanded surveillance regime that would have serious repercussions for privacy rights, say Canada’s privacy guardians. Privacy commissioners and ombudspersons from across the country issued a joint resolution urging Parliamentarians to ensure there is a clear and demonstrable need to expand the investigative powers […]

BC FIPA has submitted its response to the Consultation on Copyright Reform instigated in relation to the proposed legislation in Bill C-61. BC FIPA has concerns regarding the use of Crown Copyright, provisions that would make Internet Service Providers into de facto investigative agencies for the government, and concerns with the secret nature of the […]

It’s been another busy year for FIPA! Read all about it in our Annual Report for 2008 (pdf).

In this issue: FIPA asks Commissioner to Investigate illegal destruction of BC Cabinet e-mail E-Health privacy campaign urges people to demand rights or opt out Campaign for Open Government hammers BC Liberals’ FOI performance New FIPA study says BC’s FOI performance is even worse than last reported by the Information Commissioner Enhanced Driver Licences and […]

The federal government introduced legislation today which would vastly increase police surveillance of Canadians’ Internet communications. Since 2001, privacy watchdog groups, including FIPA, have squared off against successive Liberal and Conservative governments on similar “lawful access” legislation. We are quickly gearing up to oppose it again. The latest legislative package, the “Investigative Powers for the […]

Depression, infertility, cancer, addiction, abortion, erectile dysfunction, HIV/AIDS – whatever our health issues, Canadians value the right to choose who they share intimate health information with. This right is now under threat. E-Health will create a giant system of electronic health records that will eventually be accessible across the entire country. These government repositories of […]