In today’s Vancouver Sun, FIPA’s Executive Director Vincent Gogolek teams up with Michael Vonn of the BCCLA and Shannon Daub of the CCPA to push back against the BC Government’s election advertising ‘gag law.’ Meant to keep big money advertising out of election campaigns, the law misses the mark, and ends up crushing small spenders […]

Election advertising law doesn’t just limit big spenders – small spenders get tangled in complicated rules that undermine democratic debate. Instead of re-introducing controversial “pre-campaign” limits, the provincial government should focus on fixing other problems in BC’s third party election advertising rules – problems that created a chill effect in the lead-up to the 2009 […]

BC’s Minister of Social Development Stakes Government’s Reputation on Safety and Privacy of new Integrated Case Management System Controversy is growing over the BC government’s new $182 million Integrated Case Management (ICM) system now being rolled out across BC. The ICM system will create a database of unprecedented scope and detail about the lives of […]

We may be small but we have a big reach! Read all about the extent of FIPA’s work in our Annual Report for 2011 (pdf).

In this issue: FIPA, allies call for public inquiry into integrated case management system Federal information commissioner announces ATIA consultations New ID theft support centre launched INFO SUMMIT 2012 – September 19, 2012 BC Government finally releases $300 million IBM contract Commissioner Denham launches section 25 investigation after FIPA, ELC complaint Staff changes and new […]

In this issue: Big Challenges ahead for Freedom of Information and Privacy Government reaches a new low in FOI avoidance FIPA calls for penalties when government abuses FOI process FOIPPA Amendments pave way to unprecedented sharing of personal information BC government abandons e-Health Act, issues Health Minister a free pass to collect personal health information […]

BC FIPA and the BCCLA have sent their comments on proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In line with BC FIPA’s commitment with transparency, these comments were submitted in lieu of confidential participation in the consultation process. The Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services, and Open Government is proposing […]

Updated and corrected March 23, 2012 BCLC Appeals Three of Six FOI Orders to BC Supreme Court The BC Lottery Corporation REALLY doesn’t like to release information to Freedom of information requesters. Of all the 2,500+ public bodies covered by BC’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy act, it is proving to be the […]

FIPA Denounces Eight Year Battle as Waste of Time and Money The BC government is in BC Supreme Court in Victoria today carrying on its fruitless legal battle to keep FIPA from getting an uncensored copy of its $300 million Workplace Services Agreement with IBM. The battle for disclosure of the full contract is now […]

In this update: Conservatives hit hard by backlash against online spying bill – a privacy issue that has rung the bell with a majority of Canadians. Read the update (pdf).

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC has published guidelines for public bodies considering the benefits and risks of cloud computing. “Cloud computing” refers to the practice of using the Internet to process, manage and store data on remote network services, rather than on one’s own computer hard drives. As the popularity […]

In an investigation report released yesterday, Commissioner Elizabeth Denham shot down the use of facial recognition technology by ICBC for identifying Stanley Cup rioters unless they are responding to a court order. “Facial recognition has the potential to become a technology of surveillance, and we must ensure that public bodies and private organizations using it […]