The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is conducting an investigation and consultation into the practice of proactive disclosure of information by BC public bodies. The investigation was prompted by a FIPA complaint about BC Ferries’ controversial policy of posting records obtained through FOI requests on their website, along with the names of […]

BC FIPA has responded to the Infomation and Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into proactive disclosure. The Office of the Commissioner has asked for input through a questionnaire. Today FIPA has provided its answers to the questions, its comments on what constitutes a model proactive disclosure policy, as well as its recommendations on the practice of simultaneous […]

The scope of the B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner’s investigation into BC Ferries’ FOI practices has been expanded to cover the whole B.C. government’s proactive information release policy. Any interested persons may submit their views on this topic to the Commissioner’s office, by the end of Friday, March 11, 2011. Submissions may follow the format […]

A current trend by politicians and bureaucrats to embrace electronic ‘Open Government’ initiatives may not empower citizens to demand the specific information they want, says FIPA’s new Executive Director, Vincent Gogolek. Rather, it may divert government from making long-overdue improvements to Canada’s Access to Information system. Gogolek appeared before the Standing Committee on Access to […]

By CHAD SKELTON VANCOUVER SUN February 3, 2011 [Excerpts] The B.C. government says it will soon begin posting records it releases in response to Freedom of Information requests on its website – a move it says will improve transparency but critics fear could discourage requests. The government’s move comes just month after BC Ferries, which […]

BC FIPA presented its submission on ‘Open Government’ to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI). We have to ensure that overdue moves toward more routine release and the use of technology to make government information more widely available must also make this information useable for all Canadians. […]

The government of British Columbia has appealed a decision by the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordering release of the complete IBM Workplace Services contract. The government’s petition for judicial review will be their second trip to BC Supreme Court in an attempt to withhold all or part of the $500 million IBM […]

Dean Beeby Ottawa- The Canadian Press Jan. 09, 2011 A new study ranks Canada dead last in an international comparison of freedom-of-information laws – a hard fall after many years being judged a global model in openness. The study by a pair of British academics looked at the effectiveness of freedom-of-information laws in five parliamentary […]

In another blow to government secrecy, the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association has won an important victory in forcing the provincial government to release contracts it makes with the private sector. In a decision handed down yesterday, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner ordered the government to hand over an unredacted […]

ACCESS TO INFORMATION WILL SUFFER IF POLICY SPREADS TO OTHER PUBLIC BODIES Vancouver – After being brought back under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), BC Ferries has set up a system designed to discourage FOI requests, especially those from public interest groups and the media. The new policy states that […]

FIPA has sent a letter to BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner requesting an investigation into what appear to be false claims that there were “no responsive records” to requests made under the freedom of information act. Both FIPA and the province’s Official Opposition made requests for records of government discussions concerning the creation of a […]

BC FIPA sought a judicial review of the order by the Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia dated January 27, 2009, (F09-02) regarding the scope of the exemption for “advice and recommendations” under s. 13(1) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). BC FIPA did not agree with […]