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 […]

A diverse and growing group of rights, health, union and other organizations has launched a province-wide campaign to demand that the BC government drop its proposed deal with the Maximus corporation because of the privacy implications of the USA PATRIOT Act. The Right to Privacy Campaign believes that contracting out the administrative functions of BC’s […]

BC Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis has launched a public process to review the impact of the U.S. Patriot Act on government plans to contract out the Medical Services Plan (MSP) to an American company. He has called for submissions from American and Canadian experts and the general public and expects to issue his report by […]

FIPA is applauding the final report of a Special Committee of the BC Legislature that has completed a six-year review of the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The committee’s report, “Enhancing the Province’s Public Sector Access and Privacy Law”, makes 26 recommendations to improve each of the 6 parts of the […]

BC Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis has sent a letter to the BC government decrying proposals for changes to the FOI and privacy act that would “undermine the openness and accountability the government has promised.” The letter was sent to a Special Committee of the Legislature that is conducting a review of the Act. […]