FIPA has joined with more than 30 other civil liberties groups in sending an open letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) asking it to cease development of a biometric national database standard for biometric passports. Privacy International, which organized the letter, is worried that international agreement on such a standard will pressure governments […]

BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has presented a sweeping vision for reform of the provinces’ Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act to a special committee of the Legislature which is conducting a review of the act. The submission proposes that public bodies be required to implement schemes for routine disclosure of a lot […]

A special committee of the B.C. Legislature is conducting the second formal review of the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPP) Act. The submissions made to this committee, and its report to the Legislature, will be a major influence on the Liberal government’s future approach to FOI and privacy. Once again, the […]

BC FIPA has proposed revisions to s. 13 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act in Response to the Decision in College of Physicians of British Columbia v. British Columbia (Information and Privacy Commissioner) in its submission to the Special Committee to Review the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act […]

We have put together model letters to help citizens access and correct the personal information held by the Federal and BC governments.   Personal Information: Request for Personal Information from BC Gov’t Request for Personal Information from Federal Gov’t   Corrections: Request for Correction of Personal Information Held by BC Gov’t Request for Correction of […]

We have put together model letters to help citizens access records held by the Federal and BC governments.   Requesting records: BC FOI Request – Model Letter BC FOI Access Request Form Federal ATI Request – Model Letter Federal ATI Access Request Form   Appealing a denial or unsatisfactory handling of a request: BC FOI […]

Darrel Evans, executive director of BC FIPA, was in Victoria today to deliver a speech at the BC Library Association Annual Conference on Bill 38, BC’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). After extensive consultation and input from organizations like BC FIPA, Bill 38 has turned into a real privacy bill what BC FIPA describes as […]

Legislation introduced this week by the BC Liberals is an enormous leap for privacy rights, but BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner must have adequate resources to enforce it. The Personal Information Protection Act will require every private-sector organization in British Columbia to institute a privacy code regulating the way they collect, use and disclose the […]

Vancouver – FIPA, BC’s leading advocacy group for freedom of information and privacy rights, is declaring legislation introduced this week by the BC Liberals “an enormous leap for privacy rights.” But the group is also warning that the law will be a failure unless the government gives BC’s Information and Privacy Commissioner adequate resources to […]

Bill 38 is a very good piece of privacy legislation and a breakthrough for privacy rights at the provincial level. BC has shown strong leadership among the provinces in moving forward with a private-sector privacy bill that has real teeth. For this, great credit is due to yourself and also to Chris Norman and Sharon […]

BC FIPA presented its comments before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Public Safety on the proposal to create a national identity card. [A] national ID card would be: hugely expensive; just as subject to fraud, privacy abuses, and security breaches as current systems of identification; and not likely to be more effective in preventing […]

Darrell Evans of BC FIPA gave a speech on Lawful Access to the Frontiers of Privacy and Security conference in Victoria today. Darrell highlighted some of the concerns that BC FIPA has with the direction that the Federal government is taking in the context of Lawful Access. FIPA’s view in a nutshell is that we […]