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The Freedom of Information and Privacy Association brings you this weekly roundup of the news stories in the information management field.
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21 minutes ago
21 minutes ago
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 lack of a clear public framework. We’ll also look at how FIPA brought those broader concerns to the Privacy and Access Council of Canada this week, as the pattern of so-called modernization continues to narrow access rights in multiple provinces.
Elsewhere, Ontario’s government is facing backlash over sweeping budget legislation that would retroactively shield political records from freedom-of-information law, while in Alberta, access-obtained documents raise fresh concerns about ideological influence over public education.
And internationally, the pressure is rising on Big Tech, as courts and governments take a much harder line on youth social media harms and platform accountability.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260411-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-15
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237
Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Saturday Mar 28, 2026
Saturday Mar 28, 2026
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—including whether privacy concerns are addressed.
We’re also tracking cybersecurity developments across Canada, including fallout from the Nova Scotia Power breach and a blackmail attempt targeting a sitting legislator.
Internationally, a U.S. jury has found Meta responsible for harms to children, as governments continue to look at how to regulate social media and artificial intelligence.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260328-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-13
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Saturday Mar 21, 2026
Saturday Mar 21, 2026
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.
Taken together, it looks less like a series of isolated reforms and more like a broader race to the bottom—one where secrecy expands, accountability contracts, and the public is asked to accept it all as reasonable housekeeping.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260321-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-12
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Saturday Mar 14, 2026
Saturday Mar 14, 2026
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 AI surveillance.
And on the transparency front, Canada’s Information Commissioner is warning that federal access-to-information reform proposals lack ambition—while freedom-of-information reporting reveals gaps in everything from hospital overdose data to environmental spill reporting.
And in late-breaking news this week, as British Columbia continues debate over Bill 9, the government’s proposed changes to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Ontario introduces changes designed to let the Premier act without public scrutiny.
And on the Federal front, as one chapter has closed, another opens as Bill C-4 has passed into law.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260314-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-11
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Wednesday Mar 11, 2026
Wednesday Mar 11, 2026
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 privacy obligations. It also calls on the House of Commons to impose meaningful and enforceable privacy rules that will govern the activities of federal political parties.
We urge listeners to sign Petition E-7237 on the House of Commons website, which calls for enforceable privacy rules for political parties.
The petition is open for signatures, and we encourage you to sign and share it.
- E-7237 Petition to the House of Commons: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7237
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Saturday Mar 07, 2026
Saturday Mar 07, 2026
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.
At the federal level, Bill C-4 Part 4—the controversial proposal to shield federal political parties from privacy law oversight—is returning to the House of Commons after the Senate added a three-year sunset clause intended to force Parliament to adopt real privacy protections.
Meanwhile, Meta’s AI smart glasses are already raising serious privacy concerns as reports emerge of users secretly recording people in vulnerable situations.
This week also saw major conversations about artificial intelligence governance, as FIPA joined experts and policymakers at the 28th Annual Victoria International Privacy and Security Summit, while our civil-society network continues work on Canada’s People’s Consultation on AI.
We’ll also look at how access-to-information requests continue to expose accountability gaps, from government communications around EV rebates to whistleblower reports on workplace abuse and public health risks.
And we’ll close with a difficult but important conversation about the tension between children’s privacy rights and parental authority, a debate now unfolding across Canada and the United States.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260307-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-10
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- FIPA E-petition page: https://fipa.bc.ca/upcoming-hoc-e-petition
- House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7237
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Saturday Feb 28, 2026
Saturday Feb 28, 2026
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 clear legal duty to act.
At the same time, political parties are being pitched AI-powered “digital fighters” to weaponize voter data in real time—even as Parliament and Senate continue debating legislation that would shield parties from independent privacy oversight.
Remaining in B.C., the provincial government has introduced Bill 9, promising efficiency in the FOI system—while critics warn it weakens access rights and ignores longstanding recordkeeping failures.
And in the United States, court battles over press freedom, immigration enforcement secrecy, and mass document disclosures continue to test the boundaries of constitutional protections.
It’s a week when surveillance, accountability, and democratic safeguards are colliding.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260228-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-09
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- Send a message to members of parliament: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-mps/
- Send a message to Senators: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-senators/
- Bill C-4 Resources: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-resources/
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay
Saturday Feb 21, 2026
Saturday Feb 21, 2026
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-information requests continue to expose accountability gaps—from more than 1,500 Canadians serving in the Israeli military to unanswered questions about how many patients are overdosing inside B.C. hospitals.
At the local level, we look at environmental enforcement concerns in Kahnawà:ke, farmland preservation battles in Ontario, and record deficits in New Brunswick.
And internationally, voter data seizures, police database abuse, AI identity disputes, and even iPhone security features are raising urgent questions about how personal information is protected—or misused.
Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260221-access-and-privacy-online
Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-08
FIPA Bill C-4
- Bill C-4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
- Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/
- Send a message to members of parliament: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-mps/
- Send a message to Senators: https://fipa.bc.ca/c-4-email-to-senators/
- Bill C-4 Resources: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-resources/
- Donate to Help Us Reach More Canadians: https://fipa.bc.ca/pr/donate-c4/
Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.
Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca
Our Contributors:
Writing: Shaun Fisk | Production: Patrick Farnsworth | Music: Breakmaster Cylinder
Access and Privacy Online: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-online/
News stories through the Canadian Press and Feedly.
Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes, Podchaser, Boomplay