Access and Privacy Online

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, June 6th. 

This week, we begin in Alberta, where new FIPA-Ipsos polling shows strong public support for enforceable privacy rules after the exposure of voter information for 2.9 million Albertans. 

We’ll also look at Alberta’s new combined ID cards, the federal lawful access bill, connected vehicle data, and several access-to-i...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 30th. 

This week, we begin in Ottawa, where a number of major files moved forward. 

The federal government says it will amend parts of its contentious lawful access bill, while civil liberties groups continue warning that Bill C-22 could expand state surveillance without the safeguards Canadians need. 

At the same time, senators are studyin...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 23rd. 

This week, privacy and transparency are colliding with some of the biggest political and public policy questions in the country. 

We begin with a network update on Bill C-22, the federal lawful access bill that civil liberties groups are warning could expand surveillance powers and weaken online privacy protections. 

T...

In last week’s News Summary for May 16th, we at FIPA spotlighted the fallout from a cyberattack on the online learning platform Canvas, the inherent risk of education systems relying on outside platforms for essential functions, and that when one is compromised, the impact can spread across thousands of schools almost instantly. We really wanted to highlight that story, and so we’re presenting i...

In last week’s News Summary for May 16th, we at FIPA spotlighted privacy concerns regarding connected cars, namely major gaps in automakers’ privacy policies when measured against Canadian data-protection principles. We really wanted to highlight that story, and so we’re presenting it again on the feed for your consideration.

Show Notes for May 16th News Summary: https://fip...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 16th. 

This week, we begin in Alberta, where the voter list breach continues to widen—with Elections Alberta warning that the number of people who accessed the data may be incomplete, while privacy, election, and police investigations continue. 

We then turn to a network update on political privacy, Bill C-25, Bill C-22...

FIPA President Mike Larsen reflects on the Alberta elector data breach.  

In this commentary, he considers that when political parties are left outside meaningful privacy rules, sensitive democratic data can be collected, shared, and exposed without proper accountability.  

Mike connects the Alberta breach to federal developments in Ottawa, including Bill C-25 and the earlier Bill C-4 changes. And he a...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 9th. 

This week, we begin with the still-unfolding Alberta voter list breach, where nearly three million electors' personal information may have been exposed through a searchable database tied to separatist organizing. 

The latest developments now include investigations by Elections Alberta, the RCMP, and Alberta’s Privacy C...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 2nd. 

This week, we begin with a developing voter privacy story out of Alberta. 

Elections Alberta says there was no breach of its own systems—but that a copy of the provincial List of Electors, provided to a legitimate political recipient, may have been used or distributed inappropriately.  

A court injunction has now ...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 25th. 

This week, access-to-information rights are under pressure in Ontario and British Columbia, civil society is warning Parliament about Bill C-22, and new Ipsos polling shows Canadians want stronger privacy rules for federal political parties. 

We’ll also look at FOI records, AI policy, connected vehicles, and major privac...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 18th. 

This week, we’re tracking a growing surveillance push in Canada—from federal bills that civil liberties advocates warn could expand state access to personal data to local governments in British Columbia embracing deeper camera-based policing partnerships. 

In Alberta, concerns are mounting over political ...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 11th. 

This week, we’re tracking a troubling new phase in the pressure on access and privacy rights across Canada. 

In British Columbia, the provincial government has confirmed it is now using artificial intelligence tools in freedom of information processing, even as concerns grow about transparency, accountability, and the la...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, March 28th. 

This week, Ontario’s government is moving to shield political records from access-to-information laws, and it has set up a direct clash with the province’s independent privacy commissioner. 

At the federal level, a new bill aimed at protecting Canada’s electoral system is raising early questions—in...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, March 21st. 

This week, we begin with a troubling pattern that has been unfolding across Canada. 

What started in British Columbia with Bill 9 is now being echoed elsewhere: governments and political actors chipping away at access-to-information and privacy rights while describing those changes as modernization, efficiency, or administrative reform....

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, March 14th. 

It’s another busy week across Canada’s privacy and transparency landscape. 

We’re tracking a major privacy investigation into Loblaw’s PC Optimum program, new conditions allowing TikTok to keep operating in Canada, and growing concerns about facial recognition and workplace...

Mike Larsen of the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association explains how Part 4 of Bill C-4 would exempt federal political parties from federal and provincial privacy laws and leave Canadians without a legal right to access or control their personal information held by parties.

FIPA’s petition calls on the House of Commons to oppose or repeal any changes to law that have the effect of exempting political parties from...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, March 7th. 

It’s been a busy week across the privacy and transparency landscape and here at FIPA.  

In British Columbia, the provincial government has introduced Bill 9, a set of amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act that critics say could weaken public access to government records. &nb...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, February 28th. 

It’s a busy week with big stories and late - breaking developments on Bill C-4 Part 4. 

Artificial intelligence companies are sitting at the centre of a devastating human tragedy in Tumbler Ridge—raising questions about what happens when private companies flag violent threats but face no...

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, February 21st. 

This week, the Senate delivers a significant report on Bill C-4, Part 4, with a majority of committee members warning that the proposed political party privacy regime falls far short of minimum standards—and recommending that it be removed, severed, or sunset. 

We’re also tracking how access-to-in...