BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
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CAJ hands dubious honour to federal government over Residential School records
The Canadian Association of Journalists bestowed a dubious honour on the federal government last week over its policy of fighting Indigenous groups over access to records from Residential Schools for the last decade. The CAJ made the federal government the 2024 recipient of the federal Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy…
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B.C. Court of Appeal tosses ICBC appeal of $15,000 per person for privacy breach
The B.C. Court of Appeal has dismissed a bid by the Insurance Corporation of B.C. to reduce damages awarded in a class-action lawsuit for privacy violations by a former employee that set off “arson and shooting attacks.” The court ruled Wednesday that $15,000 per class member awarded by the lower court was appropriate, rejecting the…
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VPD whistleblower alleges arrest quotas in Downtown Eastside crackdown
The Vancouver Police Board must look into an officer’s allegation that arrest quotas have been issued as part of Mayor Ken Sim’s “Task Force Barrage” initiative in the Downtown Eastside, British Columbia’s police watchdog says. An email from the anonymous whistleblower is on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the board along with a corresponding…
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Feds face court challenge over Metro Vancouver port expansion that will endanger killer whales
Environmental groups levelled a legal challenge against the federal government’s recent decision to greenlight a massive Metro Vancouver port expansion project in Delta, B.C. Approved in April, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project would double the existing facilities’ footprint and has 370 conditions attached to it aimed at protecting the environment and local species. These…
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Feds warned about risks of delaying 24 Sussex decision almost a year before it closed
OTTAWA — Almost a year before the closure of 24 Sussex Drive due to disrepair and an infestation of rodents, the chairman of the National Capital Commission’s board of directors warned that further delaying a cabinet decision on the fate of the residence would put the whole structure at risk. The mansion, which sits on…
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South Carolina renews abortion ban around 6 weeks of pregnancy, setting up legal fight
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s governor signed a bill Thursday banning most abortions around six weeks of pregnancy, setting up an anticipated legal challenge from providers. The law, which goes into effect immediately, restores the ban South Carolina had in place when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. The ban…
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As South Carolina governor signs new law, abortion restrictions strain providers in US South
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A wave of newly approved abortion restrictions in the Southeastern United States has sent providers scrambling to reconfigure their services for a region with already severely limited access. Stiff limitations enacted in South Carolina and pending in North Carolina and Florida — states that had been holdouts providing wider access to…
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Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec join Ottawa in investigating ChatGPT
EDMONTON _ The governments of Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec are joining the federal privacy commissioner in investigating the company behind the artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, ChatGPT. Alberta’s privacy authority says the joint investigation would see if OpenAI, which is the parent company of ChatGPT, obtained valid consent from Canadians to collect, use and disclose their personal information via its chatbot. ChatGPT, which…
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Ontario urged to develop ‘guardrails’ on public sector use of AI
TORONTO — Ontario should put in place “effective guardrails” on the public sector’s use of artificial intelligence technologies, the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the Ontario Human Rights Commission said Thursday in a joint statement. The government must urgently develop “robust and granular” rules so it can reap the benefits of AI technologies in an…
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South Carolina ready to renew abortion ban around 6 weeks of pregnancy after Senate vote
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abortion will soon be severely restricted in one of the last bastions for legal access in the U.S. South. The South Carolina Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy — before most people know they are pregnant — and sent it to…
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AI guru Yoshua Bengio says regulation too slow, warns of ‘existential’ threats
MONTREAL — Artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio says regulation in Canada is on the right path, but progress is far too sluggish. Speaking in Montreal, the Universite de Montreal professor said he backed a bill tabled in the House of Commons last June that adopts a more general, principles-based approach to AI guardrails and leaves…