Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, February 7th. Late breaking this week: Bill C-4, Part 4, is heading toward a unique Senate committee. It is not too late to contact Senators or your MP. You’ll find links in the show notes. We’ll be following developments closely.  This week, access-to-information requests continue to expose deep accountability gaps. From millions in […]

One of the goals behind Access & Privacy Online has always been practical: to surface significant access to information and privacy stories as they unfold. The podcast was designed as a monitoring and learning tool, helping listeners track developments across Canada and internationally, and understand how those stories connect to broader questions of accountability, surveillance, […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 31st. This week, artificial intelligence is colliding with privacy, democracy, and public trust — from Google’s move to fold personal data directly into AI-powered search, to renewed federal plans for an online harms bill that could reshape how Canadians — especially children — experience the […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 24th. This week, we’re tracking a sharp escalation in surveillance and enforcement powers — from a B.C. municipality openly challenging a privacy watchdog’s authority, to U.S. immigration officers asserting the right to enter homes without a judge’s warrant.  We’re also looking at how access-to-information requests continue to expose […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, January 17th. We’re starting the year with a heavy focus on access to information, and what happens when transparency fails, or is actively resisted. This week, access requests uncover troubling gaps in domestic-violence prosecutions in Nunavut, reveal why a Parks Canada boat ban blindsided communities in Manitoba, and expose how […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for January 15th, our first of 2026.  After the holiday break, there’s a lot to catch up on. Across Canada and internationally, we’re seeing familiar themes re-emerge: data breaches with unresolved accountability, governments struggling to balance security, privacy, and transparency, and growing pressure to define how artificial intelligence is governed, or not governed, in practice.  We’ll start in Nova […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, December 20th.   As we close out our final news summary of 2025, this week’s stories bring together a familiar set of themes: how access to information exposes public risk, how governments are reshaping decision-making behind closed doors, and how emerging technologies—from artificial intelligence to biometric surveillance—are testing the limits […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, December 13th.   As we head into the holiday season, it’s another big week for access and privacy. Local Journalism Initiative reporting uncovers serious questions about water safety, council transparency, and digital surveillance at home. Nationally, we’re seeing renewed pressure around the Ring of Fire, critical minerals, and Indigenous consent. Around the world, governments are […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, December 6th.   This week, police-worn body cameras are expanding across the country — and in some places, they’re being paired with new AI tools that raise serious questions about oversight and public transparency. We’re also watching a surge of major developments out of Alberta, from an influential access-to-information ruling to new concerns […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, November 29th.   This week, the national spotlight is squarely on children’s privacy and online safety. Advocates are renewing calls for federal action as harms escalate, from AI-driven manipulation to tragic failures in youth mental health information practices. And as families head into holiday shopping, experts warn that AI-powered toys […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, November 22nd.   There’s a lot of action on the access and privacy front across Canada at local levels  We lead with two reports that shed light on Artificial intelligence policies and threats. With another example of a local council passing an AI policy, and another report highlighting […]

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, November 15th.   With attention still in Ottawa we have a lighter news week while still gaining important insight into privacy items domestically and abroad.  We travel coast to coast with local journalism initiative reporters looking at the DE prioritization of AI policies in Newfoundland, Alberta separatism […]