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

We’re starting the year with a heavy focus on access to information and what happens when transparency fails or is actively resisted.

This week, access requests uncover troubling gaps in domestic-violence prosecutions in Nunavut, reveal why a Parks Canada boat ban blindsided communities in Manitoba, and expose how billions of public dollars tied to Brampton’s electric-bus plans remain almost entirely redacted.

We’ll also look at growing privacy concerns—from Manitoba’s new digital ID wallet to failures in protecting tenants’ personal information—and whistleblower-driven stories involving police misconduct and university governance.

Then, we turn south, where the Trump administration is again testing the limits of federal power—using funding threats, data demands, and political pressure in ways that raise serious privacy and democratic concerns.

And finally, from CES, a cautionary look at how AI-powered consumer devices are collecting more personal data than ever—often with little oversight.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260117-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-03

FIPA Bill C-4:

• UPDATED Call to Action: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/
• FIPA Bill C-4 Part 4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/
• Bill C-4 Part 4 line-by-line and brief: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-part-4-line-by-line-and-brief/

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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

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Thursday, January 15th—our first News Summary of 2026.

After the holiday break, there’s a lot to catch up on. Across Canada and internationally, familiar themes re-emerge: data breaches with unresolved accountability, governments struggling to balance security, privacy, and transparency, and growing pressure to define how artificial intelligence is governed—or not governed—in practice.

We’ll start in Nova Scotia, where the fallout from a major data breach is colliding with electricity rate hikes and renewed debate over access-to-information law. Then we’ll move through Canadian privacy and access stories shaped by FOI requests before turning to international developments involving Big Tech, AI misuse, and whistleblower protections.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260115-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-02

FIPA Bill C-4

• UPDATED Call to Action: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-2025/

• FIPA Bill C-4 Part 4 Dashboard: https://fipa.bc.ca/fipa-bill-c-4-part-4-dashboard/

• Bill C-4 Part 4 line-by-line and brief: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-part-4-line-by-line-and-brief/

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

In this commentary, we have a special end-of-year commentary among FIPA contributors.

Tune in to hear our discussion between FIPA President Mike Larsen and Executive Director Jason Woywada as we discuss the year that was and the year ahead.

Support these efforts by subscribing or donating.

Send comments to FIPAOnline@fipa.bc.ca

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