Best Michael Geist Podcasts (2025)

1
News Summary August 23rd, 2025 13:24

Play Pause

5d ago13:24

13:24

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 23rd. We start with a flip-flop from Alberta, where public backlash has forced Premier Danielle Smith to walk back plans to stop disclosing government expense receipts. Our access and privacy scan across the country brings us stories ranging from the everyday challenges Canadians fac…

1
News Summary August 16th, 2025 15:55

14d ago15:55

15:55

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 16th. We start with our privacy scan—from a major airline cyberattack exposing sensitive travel documents to new scam alerts and an urgent warning about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Then it’s our scan of access to information stories, including commitments for greater transparenc…

1
News Summary August 9th, 2025 12:00

21d ago12:00

12:00

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 9th. Even with a light news week as Canadians get back from the August Long Weekend, there are privacy and access stories of note. The federal privacy commissioner is now investigating the WestJet cybersecurity breach. Access to government documents continues to fuel headlines and pr…

1
News Summary August 2nd, 2025 20:04

28d ago20:04

20:04

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, August 2nd. We start with a scan of access to information stories across Canada that touch on many recurring issues—including a legislative review in New Brunswick that could strengthen the province’s Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Then, as back-to-school season begins,…

1
Episode 242: Sukesh Kamra on Law Firm Adoption of Artificial Intelligence and Innovative Technologies 42:44

1M ago42:44

42:44

The pressure to adopt new legal technologies, notably including AI, continues to increase as lawyers, law firms and their clients look for new efficiencies and tools to improve the practice of law. But these tools aren’t always easy to adopt – pilot programs, costs, fear of new technology, and security concerns are part of the package. Sukesh Kamra…

1
News Summary July 26th, 2025 19:08

1M ago19:08

19:08

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 26th. We start with a solid reminder for Canadians crossing the U.S. border and some important changes in the Canadian privacy landscape. There’s our regular scan of access to information and privacy stories across Canada, with an interesting group of stories from Maggie Macintosh at t…

1
Episode 241: Scott Benzie on How Government Policy Eroded Big Tech Support for Canadian Culture 33:36

1M ago33:36

33:36

TikTok’s decision to pull support for multiple Canadian cultural organizations and events in light of the federal government’s decision to ban the company from operating in the country has sparked increasing concern. Putting the spotlight on TikTok makes sense, but it risks missing the bigger picture which involves a steady stream of funding cancel…

1
News Summary July 19th, 2025 11:17

1M ago11:17

11:17

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 19th. In Canadian access news, records reveal the Alberta Government literally following the lists of most banned books in the United States to create their own book bans. Plus there’s evidence of shortfalls in Indigenous procurement and failures in emergency response. In Privacy and w…

1
Episode 240: Dean Beeby on Why Canada’s Language Laws May Stop Government From Posting Access to Information Records Online 25:34

2M ago25:34

25:34

Canada’s outdated and discouragingly ineffective access to information system has languished for years to the frustration of many transparency advocates. One potential fix – or at least improvement – would be for government departments and agencies to make the full text of the records from access requests available to the public by default online. …

1
News Summary July 12th, 2025 11:34

2M ago11:34

11:34

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 12th. We’re heading into the full summer season here, and while you’re hopefully enjoying the sun where you are, we’ll start with the access to information and privacy scans across Canada. There are some troubling environmental impacts as one oil company breaks a deal and another has d…

1
Episode 239: The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Digital Services Tax 20:52

2M ago20:52

20:52

Two days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to suspend all trade negotiations with Canada unless it rescinded the digital services tax, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced that the government was rescinding the tax. The rise and fall of the Canadian DST was marked by repeated warnings of potential U.S. retaliat…

1
News Summary July 5th, 2025 13:10

2M ago13:10

13:10

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, July 5th. While there are national holidays in Canada and south of the border this past week, there are still lots to consider in the news. We’ll start with a few Canadian stories intersecting privacy, including an Ontario data breach, the Government of the Northwest Territories making chan…

1
Episode 238: David Fraser on Why Bill C-2's Lawful Access Powers May Put Canadians' Digital Security At Risk 35:08

2M ago35:08

35:08

The Bill C-2 lawful access focus has thus far primarily centred on the creation of a new warrantless information demand power and the expansion of production orders to access information. Those provisions are found in Part 14 of the bill, but there is also a Part 15 that requires closer scrutiny. It grants law enforcement access to electronic servi…

1
News Summary June 28th, 2025 15:23

2M ago15:23

15:23

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, June 28th. We have some updates on Bill C-2 and Bill C-4 as the House of Commons rises for the summer. We’ll have our regular scan across the country with a surprising group of stories in Alberta echoing influences from south of the border—including moves by the provincial government to ban…

1
Episode 237: A Conversation with Jason Woywada of BCFIPA on Political Party Privacy and Bill C-4 37:23

2M ago37:23

37:23

The government’s unexpected privacy reform agenda includes both lawful access in Bill C-2 and the evisceration of political party privacy in Bill C-4. While Bill C-4 is framed as implementing affordability measures, it also exempts political parties from the application of privacy protections on a retroactive basis dating back to 2000.To examine th…

1
Commentary: Bill C-4 w/ Michael Geist 38:04

2M ago38:04

38:04

In this Commentary, we discuss Bill C-4, titled An Act respecting certain affordability measures for Canadians and another measure. That “other measure” is a series of amendments to the Canada Election Act creating serious impacts on people and their personal information. FIPA is conducting its first joint podcast with Michael Geist and The Law Byt…

1
Commentary: Bill C-2 w/ Robert Diab 28:16

2M ago28:16

28:16

Canada’s federal C-2 Strong Borders Act is a sweeping and controversial bill that is currently moving through Parliament. The bill includes ‘lawful access’ provisions, unrelated to borders, that expand state powers to access personal information held by electronic service providers. This is not the first time that lawful access powers have been pro…

1
Episode 236: Robert Diab on the Return of Lawful Access 39:49

2M ago39:49

39:49

Lawful access is back. Bill C-2, the government’s border bill, includes a new information demand power that would result in warrantless disclosure of information about a subscriber, a new international production order, and requirements for providers to assist law enforcement in working with their networks. There will no doubt be multiple podcast e…

1
News Summary June 14th, 2025 30:07

3M ago30:07

30:07

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, June 14th. We’ve got stories from across the country shaped by access to information—from national defense funding to local integrity issues, wildfire preparedness, and controversial provincial actions. We’ll follow that with a scan of cybersecurity incidents, data breaches, and surveillanc…

1
Episode 235: Teresa Scassa on the Alberta Clearview AI Ruling That Could Have a Big Impact on Privacy and Generative AI 31:00

3M ago31:00

31:00

The privacy concerns with Clearview AI sparked investigations and court cases around the world. The issues date back many years, but recently an Alberta court weighed in on the application of provincial privacy law in a decision that has big implications not only for that company but for the intersection between privacy and generative AI.To help un…

1
Brief Update: Bill C-4 and FIPA's Upcoming AGM 1:15

3M ago1:15

1:15

We've had a busy week with lots going on, and we plan to be back with our regular show next week. We will certainly be covering Bill C-4 and its impact on Canadian Privacy and political parties. Given FIPA’S intervenor status with Liberal Party of Canada v. The Complainants, we will be watching closely and reporting on that in the coming weeks. Lea…

1
Episode 234: “Solutions Aren’t Going to be Found Through Nostalgia”: Mark Musselman on the CRTC Hearings on Canadian Content Rules 36:13

3M ago36:13

36:13

The CRTC recently wrapped up a two-week hearing on the Online Streaming Act that featured most of the usual suspects, though notably not the large streaming services. The Commission grappled with foundational issues such as modernizing the definition of Canadian content, instituting IP requirements, and introducing new discoverability rules into Ca…

1
News Summary May 31st, 2025 13:57

3M ago13:57

13:57

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 31st. Nova Scotia is back in the privacy and cybersecurity spotlight as a sophisticated ransomware attack triggers a probe and fallout from Nova Scotia Power’s data breach. We have our regular summaries of privacy, access to information, and whistleblower stories from Canada and across …

1
Commentary: Alberta Troubles 32:31

3M ago32:31

32:31

There’s trouble in Alberta's access and privacy landscape. Recent investigations found the Alberta government is not complying with freedom of information laws, with the Information and Privacy Commissioner confirming significant non-compliance in processing access requests. Additionally, a court ruled portions of Alberta's Personal Information Pro…

1
Episode 233: Abdi Aidid on AI, the Law and the Future of Legal Practice 53:25

3M ago53:25

53:25

The discussion on the intersection between AI and the law, especially with respect to legal services continues to grow. From lawyers that mistakenly rely on AI generated cases to AI support for due diligence and comment review, the role of AI within legal practice has emerged as a critical issue. Professor Abdi Aidid is a law professor at the Unive…

1
News Summary May 24th, 2025 18:36

3M ago18:36

18:36

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 24th. Off the top, an American hacker pleads guilty in the PowerSchool data breach, while a controversial Trump-backed snitch line raises alarms as it can collect information on Canadians. We also cover significant data breaches and cyber incidents affecting global companies, including …

1
Commentary: Privacy Matters 17:16

3M ago17:16

17:16

FIPA President Mike Larsen recently delivered a lecture focusing on Surveillance & Privacy. It’s something we thought our regular listeners would be interested in, and we’ve recorded a version for this week's commentary. Let's take a look at 'why Privacy matters, and why it matters right now'. Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. Send …

1
News Summary May 17th, 2025 14:03

4M ago14:03

14:03

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 17th. Off the top we’ll look at the latest wave of impacts on privacy and access coming from legislative changes in Alberta, with the Government at odds with the courts and independent offices. We have a cluster of stories in BC spanning privacy and access to information, in addition to…

1
News Summary May 10th, 2025 13:43

4M ago13:43

13:43

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 10th. With major national and international events, from the new pope to the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe, grabbing the spotlight, there are still plenty of other stories to highlight. We’ll start with stories from Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative and the continued fallout …

1
Episode 232: What Will Canadian Digital Policy Look Like Under the New Liberal Carney Government? 25:11

4M ago25:11

25:11

Digital policy did not play a major role in the recent federal election, but the new Mark Carney Liberal government is quickly going to face a wide range of digital-related policy questions. This week’s Law Bytes podcast examines the short, medium and longer term issues including the future of the digital services tax, Canadian digital sovereignty,…

1
News Summary May 3rd, 2025 14:36

4M ago14:36

14:36

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, May 3rd. Our condolences go out to everyone in the Filipino community and Vancouver affected by the tragic events of April 26th. Off the top, the dust is still settling on the federal election, and we see the first of the Code of Silence Awards being handed out. We’ll look at important stor…

1
Commentary: Canadian Federal Election 44:16

4M ago44:16

44:16

Election Day is Monday, April 28th! Be sure to listen in as FIPA President Mike Larsen, Executive Director Jason Woywada, and Legal Researcher Spencer Izen sit down with me to discuss Canada's Federal Election and FIPA’s surveys questionnaires and guides. Support these efforts by subscribing or donating. Send comments to [email protected] Acces…

1
News Summary April 26th, 2025 21:07

4M ago21:07

21:07

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 26th. It’s Election day on Monday, April 28th! We’ll start with the historic fines and action being taken against Meta and Apple in the European Union for privacy violations. We’ll shift to the privacy and access to information stories from across Canada, including great reminders abo…

1
Brief Update: Easter Break and Upcoming Coverage 0:41

4M ago0:41

0:41

The team here at Access and Privacy Online are taking the Easter Weekend off, and we hope you all have the opportunity to do the same. We’ll be back next week with more coverage of the headlines and commentary. In particular, in the coming week, we’ll be sharing a recent lecture from FIPA President Mike Larson, where he expounds on 'why Privacy mat…

1
News Summary April 12th, 2025 16:58

5M ago16:58

16:58

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 12th. We are entering week four of the federal election here in Canada. We’ll start with a few national stories before diving into the local journalism reports informed by and intersecting access to information privacy and information management across Canada. We have a couple of non-…

1
Episode 231: Sara Bannerman on How Canadian Political Parties Maximize Voter Data Collection and Minimize Privacy Safeguards 30:44

5M ago30:44

30:44

As the 2025 federal election passes the midway point, it is increasingly apparent that the federal political parties are not only battling for votes, but also for data. Canadians may not see it but political parties are data machines anxious to collect and use as much data about potential supporters as possible. Sara Bannerman is the Canada Researc…

1
News Summary April 5th, 2025 19:35

5M ago19:35

19:35

This is your Access and Privacy News Summary for Saturday, April 5th, and we are entering week three of the federal election here in Canada. On the radar this week: Police record-keeping and the growing role of AI both inside and outside the courtroom. Two scandals involving taxpayer dollars and questions of political accountability. Updates on env…

1
Commentary: BC Information Commissioner Michael Harvey 40:06

5M ago40:06

40:06

FIPA was recently at the 27th Annual Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit. It was a great event with hundreds of cybersecurity and privacy professionals from around the globe addressing the topics facing the use and protection of your personal information. We were grateful and privileged to have an opportunity to have BC Information Com…