MPs have been given a new blueprint to renovate the country’s antiquated access-to-information law. New Democrat MP Pat Martin has introduced a private member’s bill that includes reform measures Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised more than three years ago, but has yet to act on. The bill hit the floor on the eve of a […]

Congratulations! The B.C. government — the one that promised to be “the most open, accountable and democratic government in Canada” — has just granted your freedom of information request. You open the package of documents and find a notice that seems to say you can’t make the information public without the government’s permission. “Permission of […]

BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has issued a special report criticizing the provincial government for its failure to tackle the chronic problem of delay in responding to freedom of information requests. In his first annual report on FOI performance, “Timeliness of Government’s Access to Information Responses”, released on February 13, David Loukidelis describes what he […]

A ruling handed down on January 13 by the Ontario Court of Appeal is “a landmark decision that upholds the principles of openness and transparency as applied to electronic records,” said Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian. The Court allowed appeals by the Commissioner and a Toronto Star reporter from a Divisional Court ruling […]

The Canadian Newspaper Association, Canadian Taxpayers Federation and FIPA are urging Prime Minister Harper to follow the lead of President Barack Obama and act immediately to end the access-to-information crisis in Canada. On his first day in office, President Obama issued new orders designed to improve the U.S. government’s openness and transparency. The first directive […]

Liberals try bureaucratic shuffle to meet criticism on information response By Vaughn Palmer Vancouver Sun (link to full column below) The B.C. Liberals are moving to centralize all incoming requests under the provincial information law, saying it is an attempt to address chronic complaints about government failure to respond in a timely fashion. The edict […]

By Janice Tibbets Vancouver Sun December 9, 2008 Should access to government information be elevated to a constitutional right? The Supreme Court of Canada, in a massive legal challenge Thursday that is drawing more than a dozen interveners, will consider whether access-to-information laws, which permit the public to see documents that the state seeks to […]

EDITORIAL THE TIMES COLONIST B.C. Children’s Minister Tom Christensen says the government’s attempt to evade freedom-of-information laws and conceal damaging information about inadequate support for children who have been sexually abused was an understandable mistake. That is rubbish. The censorship, as in so many similar cases, was a violation of the government’s claimed commitment to […]

In an effort to protect and advance the human rights of freedom of expression and privacy, a diverse coalition of leading information and communications companies, major human rights organizations, academics, investors and technology leaders today launched the Global Network Initiative. From the Americas to Europe to the Middle East to Africa and Asia, companies in […]

Three national organizations concerned about openness and accountability in government have written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper to ask what became of the Conservatives’ 2006 campaign promises to reform the Access to Information Act. The Canadian Newspaper Association, Canadian Taxpayers Federation and BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) are attempting to put the […]

The Information and Privacy Commissioner, David Loukidelis, has filed his decision regarding the impact of third party requests for review in the ongoing IBM contract disclosure dispute. BC FIPA was the original applicant in the FOI request. “The Ministry and the third party, IBM, argued that IBM’s request for review of the Ministry’s decision to […]

In his annual report released today, BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner announced that he will begin issuing regular public report cards on the performance of government ministries in complying with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Commissioner Loukidelis also reported that privacy breaches are on the rise in British Columbia. “We investigated […]