Following a scathing statement from the Representative for Children and Youth, and with the Privacy Commissioner and Auditor General also looking at the situation, several non-profit groups and privacy advocates have written to Premier Christy Clark seeking a public inquiry into the $200 million Integrated Case Management (ICM) project. The letter to the Premier is […]

BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has announced that she will be launching an investigation into a widespread failure by public bodies to comply with section 25 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. That section requires heads of public bodies to release information relevant to public health and safety or […]

Privacy concerns are snowballing about the collection, use and disclosure of personal information through police databases. On Wednesday, BC Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham released a report detailing her recent investigation into employment-related criminal record checks by the BC Government. In her report, Denham notes that approximately 85% of the government’s 33,500 employees must […]

BC’s Representative for Children and Youth has released a scathing statement expressing deep concerns over the effectiveness, security, and reliability of the BC Government’s pricey Integrated Case Management System. Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond doesn’t mince words in her statement, stating “I strongly believe that ICM is not adequate to provide safety to vulnerable children, youth […]

This weekend will mark an important milestone for information rights in Canada. Thirty years ago tomorrow, the federal Access to Information Act received Royal Assent, becoming the law of the land. But according to a press release issued today by the federal Information Commissioner, her office’s investigations “have demonstrated a number of deficiencies in the […]

After almost eight years of costly delays, the BC Government has finally released the final details of its ten-year, $300 million Workplace Services contract with IBM. FIPA received word last night that the Government would not appeal a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of British Columbia confirming their obligation to release the remaining redacted […]

FIPA congratulates the Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre (CITSC) on the official launch of their victim support services! The Canadian Identity Theft Support Centre is a non-profit organization focused on assisting victims and potential victims of identity crimes. Experts work directly with victims and advise them on the step-by-step practices that will assist them in […]

There has been a lot of discouraging news on the FOI and privacy front recently as a raft of new legislation introduced in the last couple of weeks undercuts the law protecting our FOI and privacy rights. All four bills have been criticized by provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham in an unprecedented barrage […]

FIPA has won yet again in our eight-year fight for the release of the BC Government’s Workplace Services contract with IBM. The BC Supreme Court today rejected all the BC government’s arguments opposing the release of the remaining details of the $300 million contract, which expires in 2014. The government was arguing that section 15 […]

BC Supreme court justice Bracken has set down his ruling on a judicial review application sought by the Minister of Citizens Services in the ongoing dispute regarding disclosure of the IBM contract with the Ministry for “Workplace Support”: British Columbia (Minister of Citizens’ Services) v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner) 2012 BCSC 875 The […]

FIPA, along with the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Victoria (ELC), today announces the release of our latest submission to the Information and Privacy Commissioner. Outlining six cases where the public was not told about potentially hazardous situations, the submission requests an investigation into the disregard of Section 25 of the Freedom of […]

The University of Victoria Environmental Law Clinic ,on behalf of BC FIPA, has a submission to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to request an investigation into the disregard of section 25 of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) by public bodies. BC FIPA is concerned that there […]