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 […]

The special committee to review BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) has issued a call for written submissions. The deadline is February 12, 2008. PIPA is BC’s privacy act covering provincially-regulated private sector organizations, including businesses and non-profit groups. This is the first review of BC’s PIPA since it was passed in 2003. FIPA will […]

A reporter for the Victoria Times-Colonist has thrown light on how the BC government abuses the freedom of information process to improperly withhold sensitive information from the public. Relying on sweeping sections of the province’s freedom of information law, the Ministry of Children and Family Development tried to block the Times Colonist newspaper from getting […]

The news over the summer that the CRTC was at long last moving forward with a national do-not-call list generated a sigh of relief from millions of Canadians fed up with intrusive, unwanted and inconvenient unsolicited telemarketing calls. In the past few months, the do-not-call list details have begun to emerge with the CRTC addressing […]

The Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is deeply disappointed in the new Conservative government’s failure in its recent Throne Speech to deliver on their promises to increase government transparency by “strengthening Access to Information legislation.” Harper is misleading Canadians when he claims that he has kept his word about making good on his […]

BC FIPA sent its submission for the Customer Name and Address Information Consultation to Public Safety Canada today. FIPA outlines three main concerns with the CNA proposal. [T]he proposals go beyond maintaining existing powers in order to cope with new technology … [and] would actually lower the threshold currently required to obtain Canadians’ personal information […]

The politician who spearheaded the creation of the B.C. Freedom of Information Act says the 15-year-old legislation has failed to blunt government’s natural instinct to withhold public information. Former NDP attorney general Colin Gabelmann said Friday the act was designed to “foster a culture of openness” so that government officials would automatically release information as […]

The Federal Court has ordered the federal government to reveal most of what it didn’t want Canadians to know about the Mahar Arar Scandal. Newly declassified information shows that that Canadian agencies worked directly with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and also received information known to be likely derived from Syrian torture during a post-9/11 […]

In his annual report, released today, Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis has called on the Premier and Cabinet to show leadership by amending the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to restore the public’s access to information rights that were curtailed by a BC Court of Appeal Decision. “The bottom line is […]