News Summary May 23rd, 2026

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 23rd.  This week, privacy and transparency are colliding with some of the biggest political and public policy questions in the country.  We begin with a network update on Bill C-22, the federal lawful access bill that civil liberties groups are warning could expand surveillance powers and weaken online privacy protections.  Then we turn to Alberta, where the voter list breach continues to grow in significance—with new reporting on U.S. political technology links, court filings, safety risks for domestic violence survivors, and unanswered questions about how the personal information of nearly three million Albertans was exposed.  Across Canada, we look at privacy disputes involving short-term rental addresses, migrant access to health care, workplace AI, and the sex offender registry.  On access to information, we track Ontario’s new transparency restrictions, jail overcrowding, environmental accountability fights in Erin, climate modelling in Newfoundland and Labrador, Hydro-Québec secrecy, and Uber’s lobbying in Halifax.  And internationally, we look at public records and accountability stories from Romania, the United States, and Michigan—where freedom of information continues to show what governments and institutions would otherwise leave hidden.  Show Notes: https://fipa.bc.ca/nm/20260523-access-and-privacy-online  Individual Stories: https://fipa.bc.ca/tag/2026-season-episode-21  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 [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