The Canadian Parliament’s Subcommittee on Public Safety and National Security began a review of Canada’s Anti-terrorism Act on December 16, 2004. The Subcommittee will be accepting written submissions and holding public hearings during winter and spring 2005, with a view to tabling a report in the House of Commons in autumn of the same year. […]

A recently disclosed privacy breach at giant US-based information broker Choicepoint points out the need for a new law in Canada to help protect potential victims of identity theft, say two consumer and privacy advocacy groups — the Canadian Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Choicepoint […]

Ottawa, January 27, 2005 – The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, is pleased to announce that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) is awarding $49,775, under its Contributions Program, to the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) for a special study on identity theft. “The theft of personal […]

BC FIPA has compiled a table of the recommendations of the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia (OIPC) regarding amendments to the BCFreedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) and their level of implementation by the government. Very few of the recommendations have been implemented. Download the table (pdf).

Britain’s Freedom of Information Act came into force on January 1, 2005. Will it create a more open government in spite of Britain’s notoriously secretive government culture? Under the act, anyone, of any nationality, living anywhere in the world, will be able to request information held by more than 100,000 public authorities and other designated […]

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canadian families could soon enjoy a measure of peace and quiet at dinner time as the result of legislation introduced on Monday to limit the right of telemarketers to make unsolicited calls. The new legislation would pave the way for a national do-not-call list, matching popular registries in the United States and […]

BC FIPA has made its submission regarding the Draft Employment Privacy Guidelines to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC today. FIPA is in support of a large part of the Draft Guidelines – on the whole, they are clear, reasonable, and support a meaningful interpretation of the legislation. However, there are also several areas […]

Lindsay Kines and Jeff Rud Times Colonist The USA Patriot Act poses a greater risk to Canadians’ personal information than earlier stated by the B.C. government, the province’s information and privacy commissioner said Friday. David Loukidelis praised government for toughening B.C.’s privacy law, but said it needs to go further to prevent the FBI from […]

By Paco Francoli The Hill Times October 18th, 2004 The Liberal government is finally ready to move forward with reform of the 21-year-old Access to Information Act, confirmed Justice Irwin Cotler on Friday. The minister told The Hill Times the government plans to introduce its own piece of legislation or cooperate with NDP MP Pat […]

October 4, 2004 – FIPA has sent a letter to all federal MPs urging them to help build a “formidable constituency of support” for reforms to increase government transparency. The letter states, “When the tenure of Prime Minister Martin began, he declared his intention to improve the quality of Canada’s democracy, including the transparency of […]

The US-based Maximus corporation, a subsidiary of which is poised to take over the administration of BC Medical Services Plan and PharmaCare, has publicly stated on its website that it’s an “…outreach company for homeland security [Act] information sharing.” This revelation has amplified the privacy concerns of groups opposed to the imminent contract. [IMPORTANT UPDATE: […]

BC FIPA presented its submission to the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC on the implications for personal information of British Columbia residents involved in outsourcing of government services to U.S.-linked service providers in relation to the USA PATRIOT ACT. In view of section 215 [of the USA PATRIOT ACT], it appears that outsourcing to […]