The final vote on Bill C-51 is expected early next week, and the Conservative majority is expected to pass the legislation. Here’s a quick way to get informed: Learn more about the negative impacts of Bill C-51 by downloading Open Media’s new guide, Bill C-51 – A Primer (PDF) Read FIPA’s Bulletin article on Bill […]

PRESS RELEASE April 23, 2015 BC Court of Appeal splits on Election Act third party spending FIPA calls on BC government to fix Election Act third party advertising provisions VANCOUVER, April 23, 2015 – In a 2-1 ruling handed down this morning, the BC Court of Appeal has upheld an earlier decision which found that […]

FIPA prepared a submission on Bill C-51 to the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security, asking the committee to withdraw the bill. Our submission is attached and below. INTRODUCTION FIPA is a non-partisan, non-profit society that was established in 1991 to promote and defend freedom of information and privacy rights in Canada. Our […]

The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association is continuing its battle to protect freedom of expression during elections in this province. The latest round in FIPA’s Charter challenge to the BC Election Act was heard by the BC Court of Appeal on Friday, February 13, 2015. Links to court documents in this case can […]

Michael Sona was sentenced yesterday to nine months in jail plus a year’s probation, having been found guilty in August of using robocalls to try to keep 6,000 voters in Guelph, Ontario from casting ballots in the 2011 federal election. This case is not the first time that use of the Conservative Party’s Constituency Information […]

  Click here to download a pdf of the submission November 7, 2014 Ms. Jackie Tegart, Chair Special Committee on Local Elections Expense Limits BY E Mail: LocalElectionsCommittee@leg.bc.ca Re: Submission to public consultations on principles for local elections expense limits Dear Ms. Tegart, I am writing to you in response to the consultation your Special […]

Fifty-six organizations, including BC FIPA, have submitted a joint letter to the BC government that raises concerns of a proposed overhaul of the BC Societies Act. The new legislation would allow any member of the public (or a corporation) to bring a legal action against a society on the basis that it is acting against […]

NEWS RELEASE September 15, 2014 2014 Information Summit opens in Vancouver this Friday Conference will examine future of Freedom of Information and Privacy   Vancouver, September 15, 2014–The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA)  is excited to announce that the 2014 BC Information Summit will take place this Friday, September 19th at UBC […]

Announcement of the launch of FIPA’s new health privacy website, www.healthinfoprivacy.bc.ca Download release

FIPA continues to fight for freedom of expression by appealing the Supreme Court of BC’s decision in the Provincial Election Act case.   Download release  

In a decision released today, Justice Bruce Cohen of the BC Supreme Court declined to strike down provisions of the BC Elections Act that infringe constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression because he found they were justified in a free and democratic society. FIPA brought the constitutional challenge last year, after attempts to persuade the […]

FIPA will be in court next week seeking to force the government to stop suppressing freedom of expression during provincial elections. Our Charter challenge gets under way in BC Supreme Court in Victoria on Monday November 4, seeking to strike down the provisions that require everyone to register with Elections BC before undertaking ‘election advertising’ […]