By Carlo Javier It was fitting to end Data Privacy Day on Jan. 28 with a talk called Privacy in Peril. Organized by the Vancouver Public Library and the SFU Library, the event saw Mike Larsen of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) and Micheal Vonn of the BC Civil Liberties Association […]

Caution is necessary as artificial intelligence continues to shift the Canadian digital economy Artificial intelligence has long been reshaping the way we live and this summer marked an important stride in Canada’s path to an even more digitally-driven economy and government. From Jan. 19 to Sept. 21, Minister Navdeep Bains of Innovation, Science, and Economic […]

*** Update: As of December 3rd, 2018, one week following the publication of this blog post, and a couple of weeks after more than 400 Canadians exercised their privacy rights and requested their personal information through an OpenMedia campaign that FIPA assisted with, Statistics Canada has announced that they are suspending their practice of obtaining […]

How the government’s action regarding the long-overdue FIPPA reform reflects our collective attitudes towards political issues By Carlo Javier We have an interesting relationship with our rights – especially those dealing with our freedom to access information and privacy. On one hand, conversations around such issues have certainly become more welcome in the general Canadian […]

MEDIA RELEASE November 5, 2018 Statistics Canada Requesting Financial Information of Canadians VANCOUVER, November 5, 2018 – The recent media reports of Statistics Canada seeking to collect the financial information of Canadians in order to build a personal information bank—and the report that Statistics Canada has already received personal financial data from one of Canada’s […]

MEDIA RELEASE October 17, 2018 USMCA Puts Privacy at Risk VANCOUVER, October 17, 2018 – The pending free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States (USMCA) conflicts with existing provincial legislation around data localization and puts the privacy of British Columbians at risk. The Freedom of Information and Privacy Association of British Columbia […]

MEDIA RELEASE October 4, 2018 Recommendations for Canada’s Digital Transformation VANCOUVER, October 4, 2018 – The B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association submitted a paper to the department of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development for their consultation on digital transformation. The national digital and data consultation, including the roundtable discussions that took place across […]

FIPA urges the BC government to quickly implement key recommendations VANCOUVER, May 11, 2016 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is pleased to see that the Special Committee’s Review of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) has issued strong recommendations in a number of key areas, calling for […]

VANCOUVER, November 5, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is strongly concerned for British Columbia’s privacy law, following the release of the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. The group had been worried that provisions of the TPP—a multinational trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and ten other countries, […]

VANCOUVER, November 4, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) congratulates members of the new Cabinet named by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and calls on them to advance and protect Canadians’ access to information and privacy rights. “FIPA welcomes our new Cabinet Ministers, and calls on them to work to repair […]

Federal government summary states domestic data storage requirements are banned under TPP  VANCOUVER, October 8, 2015 – The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA) is expressing concern that certain legal requirements in BC’s privacy law will be undercut by the now-finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal. According to a summary of the TPP posted by Foreign […]

FIPA is highlighting the importance of both the right to privacy and the open court principle in our submission to a consultation the Court Services Online (CSO) system, being held by the Chief Judge of the BC Provincial Court of BC. The open court principle is fundamental in a democratic society, as it allows citizens to scrutinize the workings […]