FIPA wants Access to Information Act loophole closed VANCOUVER, December 8, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is deeply concerned by figures released today that show a significant increase in the use of the “Cabinet confidences” exclusion to deny records to Canadians requesting them. In her annual report released this afternoon, […]

VANCOUVER, November 4, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) congratulates members of the new Cabinet named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and calls on them to advance and protect Canadians’ access to information and privacy rights. “FIPA welcomes our new Cabinet Ministers, and calls on them to work to repair […]

FIPA highlighted the importance of both the right to privacy and the open court principle in our submission to a consultation the Court Services Online (CSO) system, which was held by the Chief Judge of the BC Provincial Court of BC. The open court principle is fundamental in a democratic society, as it allows citizens to scrutinize the workings of […]

Together with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and Newspapers Canada, FIPA planned to ask the federal parties to describe what they would do to repair and improve transparency policies and practices. This effort quickly expanded to include 22 transparency organizations from across the country. Jointly with all of those groups, FIPA developed and signed a joint […]

Information and Privacy Commissioner refers matter to RCMP VANCOUVER, October 22, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is appalled, but not surprised by the stunning findings in the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner’s report on the destruction of email records related to missing women on the Highway of Tears. Commissioner Elizabeth […]

VANCOUVER, October 16, 2015 – One month ago, a coalition of 22 NGOs from across Canada signed a joint statement calling on the leaders of Canada’s federal parties to make concrete commitments to reform Canada’s outdated Access to Information Act. Today, we are pleased to see the NDP and Liberal parties have included commitments in their platforms […]

FIPA is highlighting the importance of both the right to privacy and the open court principle in our submission to a consultation the Court Services Online (CSO) system, being held by the Chief Judge of the BC Provincial Court of BC. The open court principle is fundamental in a democratic society, as it allows citizens to scrutinize the workings […]

The following is a joint statement sent to Canada’s major federal parties, and signed by FIPA alongside a number of other organizations interested in improving Canada’s access to information system. Read on to learn more, or read the press release at cjfe.org. The deficit of trust between Canada’s voters and its elected officials has never been higher, […]

Download the letter. Letter from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner in response to BC FIPA’s complaint about the government’s failure to inform the OIPC of the changed status of an RCMP file on Ministry of Health firings (see press release).

Many questions remain after Commissioner addresses FOI complaint relating to controversial Ministry of Health firings VANCOUVER, September 10, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is raising concerns that RCMP or other files could be left open indefinitely, thereby avoiding requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. […]

In the April issue of the Bulletin, we described our complaint about the B.C. Government’s odd excuse for failing to post two embarrassing reports online: they claimed that they were simply complying with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In response to our complaint, the Office of the B.C. Information and […]

As Canadians prepare to vote in the upcoming federal election, we at FIPA are working to determine where political parties stand on key access to information issues. Together with Newspapers Canada and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we’ll be asking parties to describe what they will do to repair and improve transparency policies and practices, and […]