Less than an hour into Transport Canada’s online presentation for employees on the legacy of residential schools, things went wrong. The October event was the first in a series to provide the department’s staff across the country with information on the history and impact of residential schools. But it was quickly derailed as attendees made […]

Some physiotherapy clinics are warning that recent updates to ICBC’s health-care services terms could reduce the recovery care for people hurt in car crashes. On Dec. 10, ICBC sent an email updating health-care providers it works with about a new way clients could search for eligible clinics. In the fifth paragraph ICBC said it was […]

Vancouver Public Library policies that prevent staff from wearing Palestinian symbols have put the library in the spotlight. The library’s policies say it can’t become involved in partisan issues and bar employees from wearing political symbols at work. After a handful of complaints about pro-Palestinian symbols at library branches this summer, leadership enforced the policies […]

In late November of last year, the B.C. Conservative caucus voted to appoint Jody Toor, newly elected MLA for Langley-Willowbrook, as caucus chair. As caucus chair Toor will oversee meetings of Conservative MLAs when they meet to discuss their policies and strategies as the official Opposition party in the legislature. In a statement released on […]

When sex workers are able to form relationships with co-workers, they can boost their odds of accessing support services and decrease their odds of facing workplace sexual or physical violence, according to a new study. The Lower Mainland study, peer-reviewed and published in PLOS One, looked at social cohesion and the ways sex workers support […]

Internal emails suggest City of Vancouver staff felt “significant anger and disillusionment” after city council voted to scrap the municipality’s living wage policy this year. That’s how former chief equity officer Aftab Erfan described the reaction from staff after the city announced in March it would no longer guarantee a living wage, effectively cutting the […]

British Columbia’s labour minister plans to soon pass new laws guaranteeing basic pay, rights and protections for tens of thousands of gig workers. Harry Bains’s office has launched a call for proposals that could see new requirements placed on companies like Uber, DoorDash and Lyft, whose drivers and delivery workers work without minimum pay, sick […]

Susan MacRae wants to talk about what happened to her, but she can’t. As a young girl, MacRae signed a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits her from discussing sexual abuse she suffered, even with family members or therapists. In 2018, a judge upheld that NDA even though the other party — her father — was dead. […]

Holly Noot had spent eight hours in excruciating labour at home in Courtenay before her midwife said she needed to go to the hospital. Despite frequent contractions, Noot’s baby wasn’t progressing into the birth canal. It was two in the morning and Noot, 34, was exhausted, stressed and in pain. But all she could think […]

Provincial health officials haven’t done enough to protect British Columbians’ personal health information from abuse and hacking despite knowing about vulnerabilities for years, a new investigation from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has found. A 2019 internal risk assessment found the Provincial Public Health Information System, run by the Provincial Health Services Authority, lacked […]

On June 27th, 2019, at our Annual General Meeting, we’ll be presenting The Tyee with an award that recognizes their outstanding reporting related to surveillance and privacy. (More information about our AGM and registration.) As a nonprofit society, the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association holds an Annual General Meeting. We like to make […]