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 […]

The federal Conservatives have quietly killed an access to information registry used by journalists, experts and the public that users say helped hold the government accountable. The Coordination of Access to Information Requests System, or CAIRS, is an electronic list of nearly every access to information request filed to federal departments and agencies. Originally created […]

FIPA is applauding the BC government’s removal of excessive secrecy clauses from its two new Greenhouse Gas Reduction bills. In the face of strong opposition, the Government deleted confidentiality clauses in Bills 16 and 18 which overrode the Freedom of Information act. The clauses would have imposed a wall of secrecy around the government’s dealings […]

Department’s Employees Blame Inadequate Resources, Bureaucratic Attitudes The federal Access to Information process appears to be in crisis as the rising number of requests, along with the pressure of the Harper government’s promises of increased transparency, are not being met with additional funding and resources, a new government report indicates. The assessment, based on focus […]

Excerpt, link to full Globe and Mail article below: The Harper Conservatives have failed to deliver on their key election promise to open up the federal government to greater scrutiny and to offer a transparent administration to Canadians, retired judge John Gomery told MPs yesterday. The former head of the inquiry into the sponsorship scandal […]