BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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20260418 Access and Privacy Online
Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, April 18th.
This week, we’re tracking a growing surveillance push in Canada — from federal bills that civil liberties advocates warn could expand state access to personal data, to local governments in British Columbia embracing deeper camera-based policing partnerships.
In Alberta, concerns are mounting over political interference in libraries and new reporting that suggests the government’s own health data may not match the public story it tried to tell.
We also have fresh access-to-information reporting on Ontario’s jail expansion plans, an internal memo on expanding CSIS’s foreign intelligence role, and a strong set of stories on AI, social media, and children’s privacy.
Also available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay.
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Send comments to: FIPAOnline @ fipa.bc.ca
You can support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Full Show Links
FIPA Bill C-4
- House of Commons E-Petition
- Bill C-4 Dashboard
Network Engagement
- Stop Bill C-22 and its expansion of the surveillance state!
- Senators must stop C-9 and protect our rights!
- RCMP invites Kelowna businesses to collaborate on new CCTV registry
- Town of Oliver views video surveillance policy updates with approval
- Times Chronicle – https://www.timeschronicle.ca/
- The normalization of surveillance with BC’s privacy watchdogs
Alberta spotlight
- Alberta’s access restrictions threaten privacy, democratic role of libraries: critics
- National libraries group urges Alberta to ditch ‘political interference’ in libraries
- Stats cited by Danielle Smith’s office to kill story on EMS overtime contradicted by government’s own data
- Investigative Journalism Foundation – https://theijf.org/article/stats-cited-by-danielle-smiths-office-to-kill-story-on-ems-overtime-contradicted-by-governments-own-data
- Town adjusts bylaw to adhere to province
- Strathmore Times – https://strathmoretimes.com/2026/town-adjusts-bylaw-to-adhere-to-province/
Canadian Access and Privacy
- Internal memo flags the promise and pitfalls of expanding CSIS’s foreign spy role
- Ontario failed to collect nearly $10M owed by alleged animal abusers: documents
- Ontario plans massive jail expansion, internal government documents show
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford defends plan to increase jail capacity by thousands
- Doug Ford vows to find out how more than 150 inmates were improperly released
- After Tumbler Ridge, B.C.’s throne speech was cancelled — here’s what it said
- The Narwhal – https://thenarwhal.ca/revealing-bc-throne-speech-2026/
- LNG Canada gas flaring far exceeding volumes allowed under permits: documents
- N.S. exploring potential transit system linking Halifax to three rural communities
- How our research led to a privacy complaint that pushed the World Anti‑Doping Agency to change its rules
AI and Social Media
- A look at Gabriola local governments AI technology policies
- Gabriola Sounder – https://soundernews.com/news/
- Does ‘federated unlearning’ in AI improve data privacy, or create a new cybersecurity risk?
- NDP pushing for ban on AI surveillance pricing as Lewis makes Parliament Hill debut
- Liberals adopt policy to restrict kids from social media
- Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids
US and International
- Federal judge finds Pentagon is violating court order to restore access to reporters
- Colorado Court of Appeals: Boulder can’t charge fees for bodycam footage in alleged misconduct cases
- Nevada police may be tracking your phone’s location without a warrant. Here’s how.
- Tennessee Senate Passes Amended Trans Healthcare Tracking Bill
- Trump urges extending foreign surveillance program as some lawmakers push for US privacy protections
- Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial
Other FIPA Updates
- Access and Privacy Online in the Classroom
Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, April 18th.
This week, we’re tracking a growing surveillance push in Canada — from federal bills that civil liberties advocates warn could expand state access to personal data, to local governments in British Columbia embracing deeper camera-based policing partnerships.
In Alberta, concerns are mounting over political interference in libraries and new reporting that suggests the government’s own health data may not match the public story it tried to tell.
We also have fresh access-to-information reporting on Ontario’s jail expansion plans, an internal memo on expanding CSIS’s foreign intelligence role, and a strong set of stories on AI, social media, and children’s privacy.
Also available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay.
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Send comments to: FIPAOnline @ fipa.bc.ca
You can support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Full Show Links
FIPA Bill C-4
- House of Commons E-Petition
- Bill C-4 Dashboard
Network Engagement
- Stop Bill C-22 and its expansion of the surveillance state!
- Senators must stop C-9 and protect our rights!
- RCMP invites Kelowna businesses to collaborate on new CCTV registry
- Town of Oliver views video surveillance policy updates with approval
- Times Chronicle – https://www.timeschronicle.ca/
- The normalization of surveillance with BC’s privacy watchdogs
Alberta spotlight
- Alberta’s access restrictions threaten privacy, democratic role of libraries: critics
- National libraries group urges Alberta to ditch ‘political interference’ in libraries
- Stats cited by Danielle Smith’s office to kill story on EMS overtime contradicted by government’s own data
- Investigative Journalism Foundation – https://theijf.org/article/stats-cited-by-danielle-smiths-office-to-kill-story-on-ems-overtime-contradicted-by-governments-own-data
- Town adjusts bylaw to adhere to province
- Strathmore Times – https://strathmoretimes.com/2026/town-adjusts-bylaw-to-adhere-to-province/
Canadian Access and Privacy
- Internal memo flags the promise and pitfalls of expanding CSIS’s foreign spy role
- Ontario failed to collect nearly $10M owed by alleged animal abusers: documents
- Ontario plans massive jail expansion, internal government documents show
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford defends plan to increase jail capacity by thousands
- Doug Ford vows to find out how more than 150 inmates were improperly released
- After Tumbler Ridge, B.C.’s throne speech was cancelled — here’s what it said
- The Narwhal – https://thenarwhal.ca/revealing-bc-throne-speech-2026/
- LNG Canada gas flaring far exceeding volumes allowed under permits: documents
- N.S. exploring potential transit system linking Halifax to three rural communities
- How our research led to a privacy complaint that pushed the World Anti‑Doping Agency to change its rules
AI and Social Media
- A look at Gabriola local governments AI technology policies
- Gabriola Sounder – https://soundernews.com/news/
- Does ‘federated unlearning’ in AI improve data privacy, or create a new cybersecurity risk?
- NDP pushing for ban on AI surveillance pricing as Lewis makes Parliament Hill debut
- Liberals adopt policy to restrict kids from social media
- Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids
US and International
- Federal judge finds Pentagon is violating court order to restore access to reporters
- Colorado Court of Appeals: Boulder can’t charge fees for bodycam footage in alleged misconduct cases
- Nevada police may be tracking your phone’s location without a warrant. Here’s how.
- Tennessee Senate Passes Amended Trans Healthcare Tracking Bill
- Trump urges extending foreign surveillance program as some lawmakers push for US privacy protections
- Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial
Other FIPA Updates
- Access and Privacy Online in the Classroom