The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia has released a special report on “The Impact of COVID-19 on Access to Information” to give the public a sense of how the access system generally performed under the pressures of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report focuses on public bodies whose operations were uniquely impacted by COVID-19. Read the … [Read more...] about Special Report: OIPC BC
Legislation
Projecting our values into laws
The Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s most recent annual report was tabled in Parliament on December 8, 2001. The report, titled Projecting our values into laws: Laying the foundation for responsible innovation, will be Daniel Therrien’s last annual report as Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The report calls on government to make privacy law reform a priority, and reiterates … [Read more...] about Projecting our values into laws
Changes to New Brunswick information law ‘an alarm bell’
The New Brunswick government has introduced amendments to the province's Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. New provisions enable the government to direct how departments and other public bodies process requests for documents and records, and the ability to apply different rules depending on the circumstances. The government says the amendments will make the … [Read more...] about Changes to New Brunswick information law ‘an alarm bell’
How ‘online harms’ legislation undermines privacy
Consistent with legislative initiatives in Australia, the UK, Netherlands, and other countries, the Government of Canada has been working mightily to enact privacy-invasive encryption-busting legislation it says is necessary to protect against legal but "hurtful" online content. Despite sweeping criticism of Bill C-10 and its companion bill to address harmful content online, … [Read more...] about How ‘online harms’ legislation undermines privacy
Public Interest Disclosure
Ontario’s access laws contain a “public interest override” provision that requires a public sector organization to “override” the application of certain exemptions, and disclose a record in situations where there is a compelling public interest in doing so that clearly outweighs the purpose of the exemption. To help public sector organizations and the public understand the … [Read more...] about Public Interest Disclosure
Building Back Better Requires Strong, Effective Regulation of Digital World
Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien called on Canada's new parliament to adopt modern, rights-based privacy laws that reflect Canadian values and support responsible innovation. Providing businesses of the 4th industrial revolution more flexibility and certainty in the extraction of value from personal data is not the way to accomplish that or to engender the public's trust. … [Read more...] about Building Back Better Requires Strong, Effective Regulation of Digital World
