Throughout history, no matter what country, the scope and application of constitutional power can be best described as a “contact sport”. In Canada, the game is played by two levels of government operating under a division of power that has evolved through constitutional case law  since 1867. A recent decision in Québec raises a new […]

There’s a reason why they are called “data protection” as opposed to “privacy” laws. In Canada, the privacy rights you have come from the Charter of Rights – our data protection laws provide rules principally as to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information with more than a passing nod to other topics such […]

In Ottawa, there’s talk of an election. From a privacy perspective, this raises questions not only about the fate of Bill C-29 (PIPEDA amendments) but also the anticipated-later-this-year second review of PIPEDA. Even if there isn’t an election, no one knows for sure about the timing of the enactment of C-29 in relation to the […]

It’s tough to be a hospital these days and I don’t envy the people trying to manage such places.  But one thing I do expect is some degree of attention to the confidentiality of patient information. One hospital provides a unique set of facts that raises the question of appropriate regulatory responses.

“You don’t hear it, and unless you know what you’re looking for, you can’t see it.” Bill C. Nabors Jr., Texas Department of Public Safety That quote appears in a recent Washington Post story about the use of pilotless drones for domestic surveillance purposes, raising questions as to the use of a new and cheap […]

A couple of weeks ago, Chantal Bernier, Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada, made a presentation in Toronto that included something that strikes me as a positive and noteworthy development. It was about how the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) now looks at privacy impact assessments (“PIAs”).