NEWS RELEASE JANUARY 19, 2017   BC government claims it has no records related to Carney speech about Vancouver real estate market  FIPA asks Information Commissioner to investigate Yet another incredible ‘no responsive records’ response to a FIPA FOI request FIPA has filed a complaint with the Acting BC Information and Privacy Commissioner after the […]

On January 18, 2017 FIPA filed a complaint with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC relating to the BC Ministry of Finance’s failure to locate and provide records on Mark Carney’s speech on Vancouver’s real estate market in 2011. The Ministry’s response was due January 10, 2017, but it was delayed until January […]

The following is a joint statement sent to Canada’s major federal parties, and signed by FIPA alongside a number of other organizations interested in improving Canada’s access to information system. Read on to learn more, or read the press release at cjfe.org. The deficit of trust between Canada’s voters and its elected officials has never been higher, […]

Many questions remain after Commissioner addresses FOI complaint relating to controversial Ministry of Health firings VANCOUVER, September 10, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is raising concerns that RCMP or other files could be left open indefinitely, thereby avoiding requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. […]

In the April issue of the Bulletin, we described our complaint about the B.C. Government’s odd excuse for failing to post two embarrassing reports online: they claimed that they were simply complying with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). In response to our complaint, the Office of the B.C. Information and […]

As Canadians prepare to vote in the upcoming federal election, we at FIPA are working to determine where political parties stand on key access to information issues. Together with Newspapers Canada and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we’ll be asking parties to describe what they will do to repair and improve transparency policies and practices, and […]

Information Commissioner says other ministries should also look for information that must be released in public interest VANCOUVER, July 2, 2015 – In a major report released this morning, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has gone beyond simply telling the BC Government to re-examine its files for information to be released surrounding the Mount […]

Information Commissioner closes big loophole in FOI law   VANCOUVER, June 19, 2015 – In a series of decisions released today, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has ruled that governments and public bodies can no longer withhold information in a record on the basis that it is ‘outside the scope’ of the […]

Access in the Academy, developed by the Freedom of Information and Privacy Association and Mike Larsen of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Instructor, Dept. of Criminology), and generously funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia, is a brand new educational resource that provides a unique and practical look at how researchers, students, and others in the […]

In their 2001 “New Era” platform, the BC Liberals promised to bring in “the most open, accountable and democratic government in Canada.” Research by FIPA shows that the Liberal government has done much more to erode open government during their four years in office than they have done to enhance it. In fact, they have […]