Access and Privacy Online

News Summary October 25th, 2025

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

We’ll start with a group of Local Journalism Initiative stories that show how this initiative is regularly employing access and requests for information in their reporting.  

We’ll follow that up with national reports that intersect access and privacy, including continuing fallout from the damning federal auditor's report that includes identification of poor federal cybersecurity and separate calls from national chiefs to deem First Nations policing essential.  

We have two important reports informed by the actions of whistleblowers in healthcare from Ontario and Alberta.  

And we wrap with our regular scan outside Canada’s borders. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20251025-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-43 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

 

News Summary October 18th, 2025

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

We’ll start on Canada’s national front with some big examples of access providing insight into this government’s reaction to international pressures. There are troubling actions from the nation's intelligence agency as they act without regard to privacy, plus one federal minister who seems prepared to give police even greater access to your personal information.   

Then in our national scan of access and privacy stories from the provinces, we’ll have the latest from the PowerSchool breach that impacted primary education across the country and hear how one Conservative Party leader decided to invade the privacy of his caucus and how many of those caucus members willingly submitted to his investigation to stay in his good graces.  

To wrap, we’ll travel south of the border and look at a California action to increase privacy to resist Trump’s immigration agenda, consider the most recent act to suppress press freedom, and hear about the latest political refugee fleeing the United States. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20251018-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-42 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

 

News Summary October 11th, 2025

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

It’s another big week on the privacy and access front. 

We have important legislative updates—from Ottawa’s ongoing border bills to new reforms in New Brunswick and consumer protections in Quebec. 

Across the provinces, the fallout continues over Ontario’s Greenbelt scandal, while privacy and surveillance make headlines from local hockey rinks to federal audits. 

And finally, a brief look south of the border, where the Trump administration’s Justice Department is again under scrutiny—and the online safety of children faces renewed legal challenges. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20251011-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-41 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

News Summary October 4th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, October 4th.  

It’s another big week on the privacy and access front. Nova Scotia has introduced new legislation that its commissioner warns may actually weaken transparency. We’ll follow that with access stories from across Canada, many powered by the Local Journalism Initiative. 

On the privacy side, we’ll look at cases ranging from a high-profile banking breach to a local hockey livestream that’s raising surveillance concerns. 

In the U.S., the slide toward autocracy continues—with lawsuits over voter data, federal rollbacks on worker rights, and even a lawsuit connecting Bass Pro Shops, Facebook, and Cambridge Analytica. 

And internationally, tech giants face fresh scrutiny over unsafe online environments, Britain reels from more data breaches, Afghanistan experiences a nationwide internet blackout, and the Associated Press shines a spotlight on the exploitation of women in Gaza. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20251004-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-40 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

News Summary September 27th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 27th.  

We hope everyone’s had a great Right to Know Week. 

It’s been a big one—with privacy commissioners at both the national and provincial levels releasing major findings and a wave of stories that give us plenty to dig into. 

We’ll begin here in British Columbia, where an unprecedented audit of one of the province’s largest public bodies found serious failures to comply with access to information law. Then we’ll scan access stories from across the country. 

On the privacy side, TikTok faces stinging criticism from federal and provincial watchdogs for failing to protect children’s data. We’ll also track the fallout from recent data breaches, including new legislation in Nova Scotia. 

Internationally, the United States continues to rewrite long-standing rules, with Trump and his allies pressing to expand presidential power, criminalize antifascist sentiment, and gain access to sensitive voter information. And we’ll close with updates on Canada’s own controversial Bills C-2 and C-4, which FIPA will be following closely in the weeks ahead. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250927-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-39 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

 

News Summary September 20th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 20th.  

This week we have a lot of stories from both the Canadian Press and the Local Journalism Initiative informed by access to information—including new details on Canadian military procurements, RCMP body cameras, and whistleblowers raising alarms about New Brunswick Power. 

On the privacy front, in a move that seems almost unbelievable, Alberta plans to consolidate identification and add citizenship markers to driver’s licenses. 

And internationally, echoes from British Columbia reach across the Atlantic as opponents of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps launch legal action over citizens’ right to information. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250920-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-38 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

News Summary September 13th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 13th.  

We’re back after a late-summer break, and while we were away, the news didn’t stop. In today’s review, we’ll cover major Canadian access-to-information and whistleblower stories, a worrying update on the Nova Scotia Power cyberattack, and a hard-hitting Associated Press investigation into how American tech companies helped build China’s surveillance state. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250913-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-37 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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 

 

News Summary August 23rd, 2025

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

We start with a flip-flop from Alberta, where public backlash has forced Premier Danielle Smith to walk back plans to stop disclosing government expense receipts. 

Our access and privacy scan across the country brings us stories ranging from the everyday challenges Canadians face trying to get information about local services to questions of national security as Canadian diplomats abroad come under attack. 

We’ll look at the continuing impact of the Taliban in Afghanistan, with new stories reaching into Canada and Britain. And we wrap with developments south of the border, where privacy and access rights continue to collide with politics and commerce. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20250823-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-34 

Protect your rights, Canadian MPs need to: 

Stop Bill C-2 https://iclmg.ca/stop-bill-c-2/  

Stop Bill C-4 Part 4 https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/ 

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