FIPA has teamed up with OpenMedia and other members of the Protect Our Privacy Coalition to launch a pro-privacy crowdsourcing initiative. This week the highly controversial online spying Bill C-13 passed the House of Commons, despite concerns that the Supreme Court of Canada Spencer ruling likely makes the legislation unconstitutional. This also follows a year […]

Provincial private sector privacy laws will also be affected The Supreme Court of Canada has blown away the underpinnings of the federal government’s online spying legislation, but the effects will be much wider.In a decision handed down last week, the Court found that contrary to the statements by a number of government officials and lawyers, […]

FIPA is joining over 50 major organizations and tens of thousands of Canadians today in a new campaign to tell the federal government to stop wasting billions on Canada’s hugely expensive online spying apparatus. The campaign is part of a worldwide day of action against online spying called the Day We Fight Back, and is […]

In a letter sent to the Senate Defence Committee chair, BC FIPA called for the testimony of three senior intelligence officials to be given under oath when they appear before the Committee on Monday. The letter, also written on behalf of OpenMedia, and the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), is in response […]

This week Justice Minister Peter MacKay introduced Bill C-13; legislation that is being touted as a solution to the serious issue of cyberbullying, but which on closer examination seems to be little more than a carbon copy of the controversial Bill C-30 with a new title. And Bill C-30 itself was a reboot of Bills […]

The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association has joined together with civil liberties, pro-democracy, privacy, and open internet advocacy groups across the country to demand answers and immediate action from the government after it was revealed that a secretive government agency has been spying on the telephone and Internet activities of individuals, including law-abiding […]

The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC has published guidelines for public bodies considering the benefits and risks of cloud computing. “Cloud computing” refers to the practice of using the Internet to process, manage and store data on remote network services, rather than on one’s own computer hard drives. As the popularity […]

The federal Conservatives’ online spying bill is back in Parliament and bad as ever … but opposition to the bill has been ferocious, and the feds may have to reconsider some of the most controversial sections. Bill C-30, the Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act is the latest version of a long string of lawful […]

The BC Civil Liberties Association has issued a timely and comprehensive report on soon-to-be introduced “lawful access” bills to expand police surveillance powers. The federal government has announced that it will soon be introducing legislation to increase the ability of police to intercept private communications and access more personal information stored electronically. The BCCLA’s new […]

Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian has added her voice to the growing chorus of critics of the federal Conservatives’ promised “lawful access” legislation that will expand state surveillance of the Internet and telecommunications. Ms. Cavoukian has issued a devastating critique of the imminent legislation– the most comprehensive and authoritative analysis to date. In […]

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart has sent an open letter to Canadian Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews to outline her deep concerns about “lawful access” legislation that is expected soon from the Harper government. “Lawful access” refers to the legal authority of police and security officials to monitor, intercept, seize, and search our […]

JOINT LETTER QUESTIONS WHY GOVERNMENT IS AVOIDING DEBATE ON INTERNET SURVEILLANCE LEGISLATION A new “Stop Online Spying” coalition of Canadian public interest organizations and academics released a joint letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper today, voicing grave concerns about pending omnibus legislation that would allow for warrantless online spying on Canadians (“Lawful Access” legislation). The […]