BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
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20260523 Access and Privacy Online
Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, May 23rd.
This week, privacy and transparency are colliding with some of the biggest political and public policy questions in the country.
We begin with a network update on Bill C-22, the federal lawful access bill that civil liberties groups are warning could expand surveillance powers and weaken online privacy protections.
Then we turn to Alberta, where the voter list breach continues to grow in significance—with new reporting on U.S. political technology links, court filings, safety risks for domestic violence survivors, and unanswered questions about how the personal information of nearly three million Albertans was exposed.
Across Canada, we look at privacy disputes involving short-term rental addresses, migrant access to health care, workplace AI, and the sex offender registry.
On access to information, we track Ontario’s new transparency restrictions, jail overcrowding, environmental accountability fights in Erin, climate modelling in Newfoundland and Labrador, Hydro-Québec secrecy, and Uber’s lobbying in Halifax.
And internationally, we look at public records and accountability stories from the United States, and Michigan—where freedom of information continues to show what governments and institutions would otherwise leave hidden.
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 Voter Privacy.ca
- House of Commons E-Petition
- Voterprivacy.ca
- Information misuse puts you at risk
Network Update BillC-22
- Send a letter to the editor to stop Bill C-22!
Alberta Voter Data Breach
- Alberta voter data found on website of US company linked to Centurion Project
- Alberta Separatist Group’s Controversial Voter ID App Has Links to US Ambassador, MAGA Influencers and Wealthy Michigan Republicans
- Elections Alberta privacy breach puts domestic violence survivors at risk, says Big Hill Haven
- COMMENTARY: Answers needed on Alberta voter list breach
- Court documents show new details on Elections Alberta probe into voter information breach
- Alberta lawmakers wrap up a spring sitting overshadowed by separatist movement
Canadian Privacy
- B.C. privacy adjudicator finds short-term rental addresses should remain private
- In Canada, Health Care is a Right. Except if You’re a Migrant Worker
- As Employers Push to Adopt AI, Many Workers Push Back
- Man loses bid to stay off sex offender registry
Canadian Access to Information
- Ontario’s more restrictive transparency law nixes request for health minister records
- Ontario to expand jail capacity by 2,500 beds over 10 years at a cost of $3 billion
- ‘We’re not going away’: Erin residents still waiting for Canada’s first municipal effluent cooling system to protect Credit River
- Erin council asked to reconsider Hillsburgh gravel pit decision
- Can N.L. have oil and gas, and climate targets too?
- Hydro-Québec fought to hide parts of 1960s records from Newfoundland government
- Driver oversight: Documents reveal Uber’s behind-the-scenes lobbying in Halifax
International Stories
- Animal welfare group finds systemic neglect at public dog shelters in Romania
- Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
- Michigan cities, counties have spent 18% of opioid settlement funds
- Vance takes his fight against fraud to red Ohio, muddying waters for GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy
Other FIPA Updates
- Access and Privacy Online in the Classroom
Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, May 23rd.
This week, privacy and transparency are colliding with some of the biggest political and public policy questions in the country.
We begin with a network update on Bill C-22, the federal lawful access bill that civil liberties groups are warning could expand surveillance powers and weaken online privacy protections.
Then we turn to Alberta, where the voter list breach continues to grow in significance—with new reporting on U.S. political technology links, court filings, safety risks for domestic violence survivors, and unanswered questions about how the personal information of nearly three million Albertans was exposed.
Across Canada, we look at privacy disputes involving short-term rental addresses, migrant access to health care, workplace AI, and the sex offender registry.
On access to information, we track Ontario’s new transparency restrictions, jail overcrowding, environmental accountability fights in Erin, climate modelling in Newfoundland and Labrador, Hydro-Québec secrecy, and Uber’s lobbying in Halifax.
And internationally, we look at public records and accountability stories from the United States, and Michigan—where freedom of information continues to show what governments and institutions would otherwise leave hidden.
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 Voter Privacy.ca
- House of Commons E-Petition
- Voterprivacy.ca
- Information misuse puts you at risk
Network Update BillC-22
- Send a letter to the editor to stop Bill C-22!
Alberta Voter Data Breach
- Alberta voter data found on website of US company linked to Centurion Project
- Alberta Separatist Group’s Controversial Voter ID App Has Links to US Ambassador, MAGA Influencers and Wealthy Michigan Republicans
- Elections Alberta privacy breach puts domestic violence survivors at risk, says Big Hill Haven
- COMMENTARY: Answers needed on Alberta voter list breach
- Court documents show new details on Elections Alberta probe into voter information breach
- Alberta lawmakers wrap up a spring sitting overshadowed by separatist movement
Canadian Privacy
- B.C. privacy adjudicator finds short-term rental addresses should remain private
- In Canada, Health Care is a Right. Except if You’re a Migrant Worker
- As Employers Push to Adopt AI, Many Workers Push Back
- Man loses bid to stay off sex offender registry
Canadian Access to Information
- Ontario’s more restrictive transparency law nixes request for health minister records
- Ontario to expand jail capacity by 2,500 beds over 10 years at a cost of $3 billion
- ‘We’re not going away’: Erin residents still waiting for Canada’s first municipal effluent cooling system to protect Credit River
- Erin council asked to reconsider Hillsburgh gravel pit decision
- Can N.L. have oil and gas, and climate targets too?
- Hydro-Québec fought to hide parts of 1960s records from Newfoundland government
- Driver oversight: Documents reveal Uber’s behind-the-scenes lobbying in Halifax
International Stories
- Animal welfare group finds systemic neglect at public dog shelters in Romania
- Emails show FBI Director Kash Patel’s Hawaii trip included ‘VIP snorkel’ at a Pearl Harbor memorial
- Michigan cities, counties have spent 18% of opioid settlement funds
- Vance takes his fight against fraud to red Ohio, muddying waters for GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy
Other FIPA Updates
- Access and Privacy Online in the Classroom