The British Columbia government has auctioned off computer tapes containing thousands of highly sensitive records, including information about people’s medical conditions, their social insurance numbers and their dates of birth. Included was information about such things as HIV status, mental health and drug usage. Sold for $300 along with various other pieces of equipment, the […]

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released a public notice asking for input on the development and operation of a National Do Not Call List (DNCL) and on telemarketing rules. Anyone interested in commenting without participating in the full public process, may do so in writing via mail, fax, or on a web-form […]

On January 23, for the first time in 20 years, a Canadian federal election may deliver real reform in government transparency and accountability. The ruling Liberals, as a result of the sponsorship scandal, were forced to introduce some half-hearted transparency measures in 2005, but there is a strong national consensus that much more needs to […]

Weekly privacy news briefs from around the world – October to December 2005: Privacy News Highlights – 13 Oct 2005 Privacy News Highlights – 20 Oct 2005 Privacy News Highlights – 27 Oct 2005 Privacy News Highlights – 10 Nov 2005 Privacy News Highlights – 23 Nov 2005 Privacy News Highlights – 1 Dec 2005 […]

BC’s Freedom of Information Act is in dire need of updating and strengthening. A formal review of the act completed in 2004 should have yielded improvements, but the government has taken a puzzling detour. A Special Committee of the Legislature conducted a comprehensive review of the FOI act in 2004 and submitted a report with […]

The federal government got a lot more than it asked for when it commissioned former Supreme Court justice Gerard La Forest to study whether or not the offices of the federal Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner should be merged. Although these offices are merged in some provinces, it was not entirely clear what was pushing […]

BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, David Loukidelis, has been appointed for a second six-year term. Members of a Special Committee of the Legislature unanimously recommended that the House reappoint Loukidelis. “During his tenure as Commissioner, David Loukidelis has earned a well-deserved reputation as an effective advocate for the access to information and privacy rights of […]

Read more about Lawful Access legislation here.

Justice Canada and BC FIPA held a meeting with civil society groups in the context of the government consultation on Lawful Access on March 15, 2005. No one in the group assembled for the Vancouver consultation questioned the need for lawful access provisions in the Criminal Code and the Competition Act to address new technologies. […]

BC FIPA endorses most of the recommendations for reform of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPP Act) presented in the two reports Enhancing the Province’s Public Sector Access and Privacy Law (Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, 2004) and Privacy and the USA Patriot […]

BC FIPA has presented a list of 11 recommendations regarding reforms to BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (“the Act”). These recommendations are our top priorities for reform and cover the following issues: increasing routine release; better principles guiding retention and destruction of documents; restoring the coverage of the Act to all […]

“The no-fly list announced last Friday represents a serious incursion into the rights of travelers in Canada, rights of privacy and rights of freedom of movement,” says Jennifer Stoddart, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Canada’s Transport Minister announced the government’s intention to create a “no-fly list” entitled “Passenger Protect” on August 5, 2005. Stoddart said […]