This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 2nd.

This week, we begin with a developing voter privacy story out of Alberta.

Elections Alberta says there was no breach of its own systems—but that a copy of the provincial List of Electors, provided to a legitimate political recipient, may have been used or distributed inappropriately.

A court injunction has now ordered the Centurion Project to take down an online database containing voter information and to identify who received or accessed the list.

It is a sharp reminder that voter data is not just campaign infrastructure. It is sensitive personal information about people’s homes, identities, and participation in democracy.

We’ll also look at youth privacy and digital citizenship, Manitoba’s proposed social media ban for children, a new health research consent system in Nova Scotia, and Ontario’s sweeping changes to freedom-of-information law.

And later, we turn to access and whistleblower stories across Canada before closing with U.S. and international developments on voter data, political violence, prediction markets, health-data breaches, and child safety online.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260502-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-18

FIPA Voter Privacy

• House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237

• Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca

• Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/

• 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, 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, April 25th.

This week, access-to-information rights are under pressure in Ontario and British Columbia, civil society is warning Parliament about Bill C-22, and new Ipsos polling shows Canadians want stronger privacy rules for federal political parties.

We’ll also look at FOI records, AI policy, connected vehicles, and major privacy and rights stories from the United States and Europe.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260425-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-17

FIPA Voter Privacy

• House of Commons E-Petition: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Sign/e-7237

• Voterprivacy.ca: www.voterprivacy.ca

• Bill C-4 Backgrounder: https://fipa.bc.ca/bill-c-4-background/

• 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

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

This week, we’re tracking a growing surveillance push in Canada—from federal bills that civil liberties advocates warn could expand state access to personal data to local governments in British Columbia embracing deeper camera-based policing partnerships.

In Alberta, concerns are mounting over political interference in libraries and new reporting that suggests the government’s own health data may not match the public story it tried to tell.

We also have fresh access-to-information reporting on Ontario’s jail expansion plans, an internal memo on CSIS’s expanding foreign intelligence role, and a strong set of stories on AI, social media, and children’s privacy.

Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260418-access-and-privacy-online

Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-16

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

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

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

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

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

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/