WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors’ lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm. The justices heard arguments in November in Meta’s bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to […]

Ontario is the only province where inmates are regularly locked down due to staff shortages, according to expert evidence in a pair of class-action lawsuits. Former inmates of provincial correctional facilities and immigration detainees who were held there are suing the Ontario and federal governments, alleging that inmates are commonly held in their cells for […]

MEDIA RELEASE January 26, 2017 Supreme Court of Canada forces Elections BC to use proper interpretation of Third party advertising law VANCOUVER, January 26, 2017 – In a decision released this morning, the Supreme Court of Canada has made it clear that election advertising laws do not apply to those who are merely expressing their own […]

MEDIA ADVISORY JANUARY 20, 2017 Supreme Court of Canada to hand down decision on striking down ban on unregistered speech in BC’s election law on Thursday, January 26, 2017 Ottawa, January 20, 2017 – On Thursday, January 26, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada will hand down its decision on the BC Freedom of Information […]

On March 23, 2016, FIPA filed an intervention in response to BC Information and Privacy Commissioner’s inquiry into the Vancouver Police Department’s refusal to disclose records relating to their use of IMSI-catchers (“Stingrays”), in response to an FOI request from Pivot Legal Society. You can read the submission in full here. We argued that: “…the Applicant [Pivot] is entitled […]

FIPA has been fighting against free speech restrictions in BC’s Election Act for years, and that battle will culminate in our upcoming appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada. This is an important case for freedom of speech during BC elections – and for setting the standard the government must meet in order to impose […]

On June 22, 2015, FIPA filed an Application for Leave to appeal the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia on our Election Act challenge. The BC Election Act makes something as simple as putting a handwritten sign in your window during the election period without registering with the authorities an offense, which […]

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 […]

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 […]

To read FIPA’s factum, click here To read FIPA’s reply factum, click here To read the factum of the respondent (the Attorney General of BC), click here To read the BC Civil Liberties Association’s (BCCLA) intervenor factum, click here

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  

BC FIPA’s intervener’s factum in SCC 34828 (case docket at SCC website).  BC FIPA takes the position that greater deference to the adjudicative tribunal should have been taken by the lower court and that “access to information legislation, such as in Ontario and British Columbia, fulfils a particularly critical role in nourishing our democracy. It creates […]