The Canadian government is secretly negotiating an international trade agreement which could broaden the power of law enforcement officials to invade your privacy, snoop into the content on your personal electronic devices and make a lot more copied content illegal. Led by the United States, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) would revamp copyright laws and […]

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 […]

On November 26, 2006, BC FIPA and the BC Civil Liberties Association made several recommendations on improving the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) to the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics. Today, both organizations jointly presented their evaluation of the government’s performance in responsding to those recommendations, as well […]

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 […]

FIPA and the BC Civil Liberties Association have released a joint submission to an all-party committee of the BC Legislature that is currently reviewing the province’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). PIPA protects the privacy of personal information held by provincially-regulated businesses and non-profit groups. FIPA and BCCLA have called for improvements to the act […]

An investigation by BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has pointed to “systemic problems” with the way the BC Ministry of Environment has responded to Freedom of Information requests submitted by environmental groups and has led to broad changes within the Ministry. The investigation, one of only four undertaken by the Commissioner’s Office in the last […]

The new board chair of TransLink, BC’s public transit authority, is coming under fire for deciding to move the provincial transit authority’s previously public board meetings behind closed doors. Dale Parker says the media and the public will no longer be allowed into regular board meetings. He says the most effective process for developing strategic […]

Weekly privacy news briefs from around the world for 2007. Privacy News Highlights – 4 Jan 2007 Privacy News Highlights – 11 Jan 2007 Privacy News Highlights – 18 Jan 2007 Privacy News Highlights – 26 Jan 2007 Privacy News Highlights – 2 Feb 2007 Privacy News Highlights – 9 Feb 2007 Privacy News Highlights […]

On December 11, the 2007 Whistleblower Award was presented in a ceremony at Simon Fraser University’s Harbour Centre campus. A crystal trophy was presented to Gord McAdams, an Ecologist formerly with the BC government, by the Campaign for Open Government and the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA). The ceremony featured remarks by […]

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada introduced legislation to help combat identity theft on November 21. “This Government is following through on its commitment to give police the tools they need to better protect Canadians by stopping identity theft activity before the damage is done,” said Minister Nicholson. “I have tabled legislation […]