How can federal political parties use your personal information? Unfortunately, in Canada the answer is ‘any way they see fit.’ You read that correctly: Unlike most public or private organizations in this fair nation—whether public, private, non-profit, for-profit, professional or volunteer run— federal political parties are not governed by any privacy-specific legislation. And as parties […]

VANCOUVER, August 5, 2015 – The Office of the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) has confirmed that the BC government is not prevented by law from posting reports that contain personal information. This follows the BC government’s claim that their refusal to post certain “embarrassing” reports online was based on restrictions in the Freedom […]

Click to read our latest blog on the Huffington Post The spring session of the B.C. Legislature has just wrapped up with a bang. The NDP released a letter from a former Liberal executive assistant to the minister of transportation alleging that he was ordered to delete dozens of emails related to the Highway of […]

Click here to watch an excerpt of a presentation by lead author Pippa Lawson at the launch of “The Connected Car: Who is in the Driver’s Seat.”    

When the Senate passed Bill S-4, known as the Digital Privacy Act, in 2014, it was not without criticism. The bill’s stated objective was to protect online privacy, but critics warned that it may facilitate access to subscriber data held by internet service providers. Despite a Supreme Court ruling requiring police to obtain warrants to […]

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 […]

One year’s work of research is culminating in the release of “The Connected Car: Who is in the Driver’s Seat?” next week. The full report will be online on Wednesday, March 25th 2015. For a preview article written by Dan Fumano and published in the Vancouver Province, click here.

The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association has requested that Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham conduct an investigation into a new BC government policy of not posting embarrassing reports. In a letter to the Commissioner, BC FIPA cited the government’s refusal to post either the McNeil report into the mysterious Ministry of Health […]

As we approach the end of 2014, it’s time for our annual check-in on the progress that’s been made for our information rights. It’s been a busy year for Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham, who has made a number of suggestions for important amendments to improve access and privacy laws in this province. Sadly, […]

Our online privacy rights are coming under intense scrutiny this month, as two bills threaten to expand the ability of law enforcement agencies (and others!) to access our personal information without a warrant. The highly unpopular C-13 is currently making its way through the Senate, and facing fierce opposition. Meanwhile Bill S-4, the Digital Privacy […]

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 […]

Online Spying Bill C-13 has already passed the House of Commons and will soon face a final vote in the Senate. But the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that large parts of C-13 are unconstitutional. If passed, the Bill will face legal challenges and waste millions of taxpayer dollars. The Senate claims to be […]