Post Tagged with: "loukidelis"

BC Privacy Commissioner Office in “Legal Limbo”

The Globe reports that the Office of the B.C. Privacy Commissioner is in "legal limbo" following the departure of longtime commissioner David Loukidelis.

PIPEDA Hearings – Day 04 (B.C. Privacy Commissioner Loukidelis and Professor Val Steeves)

Wednesday's PIPEDA hearing featured B.C. Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis and University of Ottawa professor Val Steeves. Commissioner Loukidelis went even further than the federal privacy commissioner in downplaying significant change. Loukidelis downplayed his order making power (a last resort), security breach notification (more evidence on impact needed), and even the concerns associated with cross-border transfers to the U.S. (can always pick a different private sector company). Professor Steeves highlighted the privacy challenges posed by new technologies and offered some specific reform recommendations. Natalie Senst was in attendance on Wednesday afternoon and she filed the following report:

Canadian Privacy Community Speaks Out on Copyright Reform

On the heels of the recent emergence of the CMCC, Canada's privacy community is today speaking out on its concerns with the prospect of copyright reform that provides legal protections for digital rights management but fails to account for the impact on personal privacy. Dozens of groups and individuals, including civil liberties organizations, library and education associations, and prominent privacy leaders such as former Privacy Commissioner Bruce Phillips (I have also lent my name to the letter) have sent a public letter to Ministers Bernier and Oda calling on the government to ensure that privacy factors in the copyright reform process.

The letter, supported by a background paper on the privacy concerns raised by copyright reform, seeks assurances that:

any proposed copyright reforms will prioritize privacy protection by including a full privacy consultation and a full privacy impact assessment with the introduction of any copyright reform bill;
any proposed anti-circumvention provisions will create no negative privacy impact; and
any proposed copyright reforms will include pro-active privacy protections that, for example, enshrine the rights of Canadians to access and enjoy copyright works anonymously and in private.

Notably, several of Canada's privacy commissioners have lent their support to the open letter.