Access and Privacy Online

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

This week: surveillance powers, environmental records, and the Crime Stoppers breach. Plus, military data gathering, American transparency battles, and AI’s growing influence on access to information. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20261107-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-45 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

 OIPC launches consultation on large-volume freedom of information requests: 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

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

This week: the Crime Stoppers breach, Canada’s digital regulator, and student aid under scrutiny. Then, AI safety, American transparency battles, and the global scam industry. 

With municipal and provincial elections across the country, the dust is still settling around newly elected leadership. 

In the days and weeks ahead, FIPA will be looking at what those leaders committed to on access, privacy, and public accountability. 

We’ll bring you analysis to help track those commitments, hold elected officials accountable, and encourage better decisions in the public interest. Be sure to tune in in the weeks and months ahead. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20261031-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-44 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large-volume freedom of information requests  

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

We’re taking the week off, but here at FIPA we just wanted to let you all know we will be back next week for more access and privacy stories, as well as an analysis of the BC municipal election. So, look out for that. We look forward to digging in and sharing our insights on this election and getting back to reporting on these important stories.

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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  

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, October 17. 

This week: election privacy, public records, and a university data breach. We’ll examine AI oversight, American accountability gaps, and international disputes over information and personal safety. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20261017-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-42 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large-volume freedom of information requests  

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, October 10. 

This week: voter privacy, a stalled citizenship guide, student-aid spending, workplace AI, a U.S. court-system breach, and Norway’s proposed smart-glasses restrictions. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20261010-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-41 

Voterprivacy.ca : www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large volume freedom of information requests  

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, October 3rd. 

This week: campaign apps test voter privacy, a health chatbot connects care and commerce, AI agents breach digital boundaries, and public records expose hidden detention practices. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20261003-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-40 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large volume freedom of information requests  

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 19th. 

This week: banking without answers, access rights upheld, privacy lessons in classrooms, data-centre secrecy, America’s ballot battles, and new safeguards for students using AI. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260919-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-38 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large volume freedom of information requests  

Migrants Right to Protest Petition: https://migrantrights.ca/RightToProtest/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 12th. 

Today: B.C.’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner announces consultation and a new approach to access delays; migrants defending their right to protest; courts confronting secrecy; expanding police surveillance; and U.S. whistleblowers warning about dangerous shortcuts. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260912-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-37 

Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca 

OIPC launches consultation on large volume freedom of information requests: 

ICLMG De Risking Event Registration:

Migrants Right to Protest Petition: https://migrantrights.ca/RightToProtest/ 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, September 5th. 

This week: Ontario’s student-aid warning signs, a court fight over the right to be forgotten, a whistleblower warning that a rushed U.S. Postal Service system could put mail ballots at risk, and Meta’s new rules for young users. Let’s dive in. 

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260905-access-and-privacy-online 

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-36

FIPA voterprivacy.ca 

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

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, Feedly, and ICLMG. 

Available through: PodBean, Apple iTunes,  YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM. ListenNotes,  Podchaser, Boomplay 

Canada’s Privacy Act was created for a very different technological era. Today, federal institutions can link datasets, automate decisions and use artificial intelligence to make inferences about people. What should the law require before government collects, shares or reuses personal information? 

In this Access and Privacy Online commentary, host Patrick Farnsworth speaks with FIPA Executive Director Jason Woywada and legal researcher Sara Mateika about FIPA’s submission to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s review of the Privacy Act. 

They examine FIPA’s 12 recommendations, including stronger necessity and proportionality tests, meaningful consent, transparent data-sharing agreements, safeguards for AI and automated decision-making, clearer privacy impact assessments, and improved breach notification. 

Sara also reflects on the research, collaboration and judgment involved in turning a complex national consultation into practical recommendations for public-interest reform. 

Privacy Act Recommendations:

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. 

Send comments to [email protected] 

Access and Privacy Commentary: 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