For democracy to exist, citizens must to be able to obtain information about the conduct of government that lets them assess their political choices. For personal privacy to exist, there must be limits on the collection and use of information about private individuals by government and private agencies. For the past decade, BCPIAC has worked both to protect citizens’ right to access to government information and to protect the privacy of their personal information.
We provided our legal expertise and significant resources to the campaign that resulted in the passage of British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (the “Act”). Following the passage of that Act, we have provided advice and representation on numerous occasions both to those who were attempting to safeguard their privacy and those who were attempting to access government information. We monitored the interpretation of the Act by the courts and participated in the five-year review of the Act carried out by a legislative committee.
We have also worked on the safeguarding of privacy rights in situations where personal information is in the possession of corporations, rather than governments. We have, for example, submitted comments on draft regulations introduced under the federal Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act, and have worked on issues concerning how British Columbia might best address this issue at the provincial level.