ETHI is short for the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. This Committee has been holding meetings on the Access to Information and Privacy System. President Mike Larsen presented FIPAs perspective on these important topics. Tuesday, April 18, 2023 Ken Rubin, David Matas and Mike Larsen made statements and, with Michael Wenig answered […]

In the case of Attorney General for Ontario v. Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, et al. File No. 40078 FIPA was pleased to work with Sean Hearn K.C. to intervene and fight to keep the public interest paramount. You might be surprised to learn Provincial governments in British Columbia and Alberta were fighting to […]

THE CONVERSATION This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site. Authors: Meiling Fong, PhD Student, Individualized Program, Concordia University and Zeynep Arsel, Concordia University Chair in Consumption, Markets, and Society, Concordia University From smart […]

Investigation Report 23-01: Access application fee six-month review While the review revealed mixed findings we were glad to have input and impact through our submission and pleased to see the report recognizes the fundamental barrier to access that the fees create. We look forward to prompt action by the Government to act upon these recommendations […]

OTTAWA — The federal public safety minister says he is prepared to work with other parliamentarians to revise the Liberal government’s cybersecurity bill after civil society groups and opposition MPs raised transparency and accountability concerns. While he is open to changes, Marco Mendicino said in a recent interview the bill that was introduced last year […]

OTTAWA — The federal government says departments will focus on making the access-to-information system work better amid calls for fundamental changes to the transparency law. The Access to Information Act allows people to request government documents, from internal emails to expense reports for a $5 fee, but it is widely considered to be outdated and poorly administered. The law […]

OTTAWA — Reporters are abandoning the federal Access to Information Act as a research tool because turnaround times are terrible and getting worse, veteran journalist Dean Beeby told MPs studying the federal law. Beeby was among the media members and researchers who painted a sorry picture of the state of Canada’s access system Wednesday for a House […]

FIPA recently replied to an OIPC request that sought details on our experiences with application fees for general FOI requests.   In our response, we restated our ongoing concerns with the application fees and provided stories that illustrate these concerns. For example, we expressed concern that the fees were passed into law during the Special Committee’s […]

A law reform activity has begun to ensure political parties respect your privacy rights. Learn more by visiting Your Political Privacy. Become part of the coalition by emailing yourpoliticalprivacy at fipa.bc.ca

FIPA submitted multiple Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the BC government this fall regarding the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and the public engagements held in the summer of 2021. Government requested extensions for all of them. That pushed release for some until after the end of session. We pushed […]

Working with our partners in the Right to Information Alliance of Canada (RTIAC) we sent letters to the major political parties to determine what their commitment is to greater Government Transparency. The Individual letters to the parties and the responses received are at the bottom of this page. RTIAC Letters to Parties – RTIAC Questions – […]

FIPA has added a new public resource. Transparency Spotlight can be found under the Research and Resources Section. This is a searchable table of over 6,500 news stories informed through Access to Information requests that will be added to and expanded going forward. Transparency Spotlight shows the important role access to information plays in research […]