Access and Privacy Online

Commentary: Bill C-4 w/ Michael Geist

In this Commentary, we discuss Bill C-4, titled An Act respecting certain affordability measures for Canadians and another measure. That “other measure” is a series of amendments to the Canada Election Act creating serious impacts on people and their personal information. FIPA is conducting its first joint podcast with Michael Geist and The Law Bytes Podcast. 

Join me, FIPA Executive Director Jason Woywada and Michael Geist. Professor of Law and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa for a discussion of C-4 and your political privacy. 

The Law Bytes Podcast w/ Michael Geist: https://www.michaelgeist.ca/podcast 

Find out more about Michael:  

• https://ca.linkedin.com/in/michaelgeist  

• https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/centre-law-technology-society/people/geist-michael  

Listen to our commentary with Robert Diab on Bill C-2: https://fipanews.podbean.com/e/Commentary-Bill-C-2-w-Robert-Diab

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Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Access and Privacy Commentaries: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-commentary/  

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  

Commentary: Bill C-2 w/ Robert Diab

Canada’s federal C-2 Strong Borders Act is a sweeping and controversial bill that is currently moving through Parliament. The bill includes ‘lawful access’ provisions, unrelated to borders, that expand state powers to access personal information held by electronic service providers. This is not the first time that lawful access powers have been proposed, and privacy advocates across Canada have raised serious concerns about the implications of these measures.

Join me, FIPA president Mike Larsen, and guest Robert Diab, Professor of Law at Thompson Rivers University, for a discussion of C-2 and lawful access. Robert Diab is the author of Search and Seizure (Irwin Law, 2023), and an expert on search powers, technology, and privacy in Canada. 

Read Robert’s article, The proposed Strong Borders Act gives police new invasive search powers that may breach Charter rights, at The Conversation: https://theconversation.com/the-proposed-strong-borders-act-gives-police-new-invasive-search-powers-that-may-breach-charter-rights-258257 

Find him on Substack at https://robertdiab.substack.com/, and at https://www.robertdiab.ca 

Listen to our commentary with Michael Geist on Bill C-4: https://fipanews.podbean.com/e/Commentary-Bill-C-4-w-Michael-Geist 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Access and Privacy Commentaries: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-commentary/  

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 June 14th, 2025

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

We’ve got stories from across the country shaped by access to information—from national defense funding to local integrity issues, wildfire preparedness, and controversial provincial actions. 

We’ll follow that with a scan of cybersecurity incidents, data breaches, and surveillance concerns that are hitting public institutions hard. 

Then we take a closer look at how Canadians near the U.S. border are navigating growing privacy concerns—while south of the border, Trump’s appointments and surveillance powers reveal the ongoing shift toward autocracy. 

And we wrap with an important conversation and call to action from FIPA President Mike Larsen and Executive Director Jason Woywada on Bills C-2 and C-4. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/20250614-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-22/ 

To protect your rights, 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 

Brief Update: Bill C-4 and FIPA's Upcoming AGM

We've had a busy week with lots going on, and we plan to be back with our regular show next week. We will certainly be covering Bill C-4  and its impact on Canadian Privacy and political parties.

Given FIPA’S intervenor status with Liberal Party of Canada v. The Complainants, we will be watching closely and reporting on that in the coming weeks.

Learn more about Bill C-4: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/

If you're still on X, you can also let us know if you trust Canadian federal political parties with your personal information: https://x.com/bcfipa/status/1930858575133642812

Plus, we have the FIPA Annual General Meeting set for June 30th, so be sure to check out the FIPA website for more information: https://fipa.bc.ca/2025-agm-notice/ 

News Summary May 31st, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 31st.  

Nova Scotia is back in the privacy and cybersecurity spotlight as a sophisticated ransomware attack triggers a probe and fallout from Nova Scotia Power’s data breach. 

We have our regular summaries of privacy, access to information, and whistleblower stories from Canada and across the world. 

And we’ll wrap up with FIPA’s review of public body practice against public expectations — finding some major gaps in British Columbia. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/20250531-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-22/ 

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 

Commentary: Alberta Troubles

There’s trouble in Alberta's access and privacy landscape. Recent investigations found the Alberta government is not complying with freedom of information laws, with the Information and Privacy Commissioner confirming significant non-compliance in processing access requests. Additionally, a court ruled portions of Alberta's Personal Information Protection Law unconstitutional, spotlighting ongoing tension between government policies and privacy rights. 

Join me, FIPA president Mike Larsen, Executive Director Jason Woywada, and legal advisor Samantha Delechantos of Fasken LLP as we unpack what these developments mean for public transparency and privacy in Alberta. 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Access and Privacy Commentaries: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-commentary/  

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 May 24th, 2025

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 24th.  

Off the top, an American hacker pleads guilty in the PowerSchool data breach, while a controversial Trump-backed snitch line raises alarms as it can collect information on Canadians. 

We also cover significant data breaches and cyber incidents affecting global companies, including a major development concerning your genetic data if you've ever used 23andMe. 

Finally, we'll preview an upcoming discussion on the troubling state of privacy and access to information in Alberta. 

Strange days indeed—let's dive in.  

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/20250524-access-and-privacy-online/ 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2025-season-episode-21/ 

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 

Commentary: Privacy Matters

FIPA President Mike Larsen recently delivered a lecture focusing on Surveillance & Privacy.  It’s something we thought our regular listeners would be interested in, and we’ve recorded a version for this week's commentary.  

Let's take a look at 'why Privacy matters, and why it matters right now'.  

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca 

Access and Privacy Commentaries: https://fipa.bc.ca/research-resources/podcasts/access-and-privacy-commentary/  

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