Law Reform

Law Reform


Black people disproportionately stopped, searched by Toronto police: report

Black people in Toronto are disproportionately stopped and searched by police despite the Ontario government’s efforts to regulate so-called “street checks,” the Ontario Human Rights Commission reported Thursday as it concluded a multi-year inquiry into anti-Black racism and discrimination within the Toronto force. While official street checks appear to have been effectively eliminated, with only […]

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FIPA Submission to the Special Interlocutor

As the Office of the Special Interlocutor called for open submissions FIPAs Gage Smith drew from his research on Leading Language to draft a submission.
From this expanded research, there are simple steps that Provincial Governments can act upon to address issues that have been identified.

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Information Regulators Unite in Resolution to Enhance Access to Government Information

New for 2023 FIPA sent its first national survey of Commissioners’ approaches to access regime evaluation.

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FIPA and AI Regulation

FIPA continues its coalition work signing on with other civil society groups to demand proper consideration for AI regulation. 45 leading civil society organizations, experts and academics released an open letter to Industry, Science, and Economic Development (ISED) Minister François-Philippe Champagne outlining key concerns with the current draft of the Artificial Intelligence and Data Act (AIDA), currently wrapped into […]

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FIPA and the Right 2 Your Face

FIPA is a member of the Right2YourFace Coalition. Facial recognition technology (FRT) is a type of biometric recognition technology that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify individuals through their facial features. FRT functions by extracting biometric information based on key facial features and makes comparisons between live and stored biometric templates. Facial recognition software produces […]

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FIPA at ETHI

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 […]

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File No. 40078 Supreme Court of Canada Intervention

2024.02.02 – The ruling is in read our review here. 2023.04.18 – Originally published 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 Hern K.C. to intervene and fight to keep the public interest paramount. You might […]

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The MITRE FOIA Reference Model.

As part of our efforts to better define the problems facing access and freedom of information in Canada we do conduct periodic scans abroad. The United States has a very advanced and high volume infrastructure acting to provide access to information with freedom of information. While varying by state there are bodies that research and […]

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Protecting privacy online begins with tackling ‘digital resignation’

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 […]

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Access Application Fee Report Released

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 […]

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Mendicino open to working with MPs to ‘improve’ much criticized cybersecurity bill

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 […]

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Feds opt to focus on making access to info law work better amid calls for reforms

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 […]

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