On March 31, the Office of the Information Commissioner of Canada tabled a report in parliament on Canada’s Access to Information Act. The report puts forward 85 recommendations to update the Act so that it better serves Canadians. FIPA signed the following joint letter calling on the Canadian government to review and update the Act, […]

The BC government’s new Government Information Act takes some useful steps to preserving information, but it has a big hole and also takes a major step backward. http://www.leg.bc.ca/40th4th/1st_read/gov05-1.htm#section18 The biggest problem is that it contains no duty to document. Recently several freedom of information requests come back with not a single piece of information attached. […]

BC FIPA presented our recommendations to the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) on October 16, 2015. Download our written submissions via the links below, or learn more about the Committee and its statutory review of the Act here. Our main written submission Our letter introducing supplementary submissions Supplementary […]

The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association has requested that Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham conduct an investigation into a new BC government policy of not posting embarrassing reports. In a letter to the Commissioner, BC FIPA cited the government’s refusal to post either the McNeil report into the mysterious Ministry of Health […]

Originally published in Huffington Post We can’t say 2014 was a banner year for Access to Information in this country. According to the Centre for Law and Democracy, which publishes a ranking of countries that have right to information laws, Canada continues to drop and is now down to number 57 (out of 100). And […]

NEWS RELEASE December 15, 2014 FIPA finally gets Ministry of Health records after two year battle   VANCOUVER, December 15, 2014—The records requested by the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association in 2012 regarding contracts and other records related to the mysterious Ministry of Health data breach case have finally been released. They are […]

In response to OIPC order F14-45, the release of all data sharing and other agreements between January 1, 2011 and August 2, 2012 involving MoH and Rebecca Warburton, William Warburton, Malcolm Maclure and Colin Dormuth; all correspondence between these individuals and the Ministry related to these agreements, particularly discussions of delays or other impediments to access to data for research […]

Originally posted in Huffington Post The federal Access to Information system has been in crisis for a number of years, and last week the crisis deepened. Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault told the Commons Access to Information, Ethics and Privacy committee (ETHI) that the number of complaints her office receives from people being denied access to […]

As we approach the end of 2014, it’s time for our annual check-in on the progress that’s been made for our information rights. It’s been a busy year for Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who has made a number of suggestions for important amendments to improve access and privacy laws in this province. Sadly, […]

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has ordered the release of records requested by BC FIPA related to the mysterious Ministry of Health data breach case. FIPA had requested: Data sharing and other agreements involving the Ministry and four named individuals; Correspondence between the Ministry and the four named individuals relating to the […]

NEWS RELEASE September 23, 2014 BC government “going backward” on FOI performance-Commissioner’s report   VANCOUVER, September 23, 2014–In a scathing report released earlier today, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham calls out the BC government on historic delays in responding to Freedom of Information requests. https://www.oipc.bc.ca/special-reports/1696 Entitled A Step Backwards, the Commissioner’s report indicates the […]

Request for an investigation into the failure of the BC Government to release information about the Mount Polley tailings pond, contrary to s.25 of FIPPA. Download the complaint