In April 2004, the Liberal government released a report on Canada’s National Security Policy that included plans to establish a public-private cybersecurity task force. More than two years later, it appears that the Conservative government is preparing to follow through on that commitment by launching its own task force. Although […]
Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh
Privacy
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.
Canada’s Top Court Tips Hand on Privacy
My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the recent Supreme Court of Canada Heinz decision which sheds light into how Canada' s top court regards the importance of privacy. I argue that the decision can be read as an indirect endorsement of the Privacy Commissioner […]
Nova Scotia Latest Province to Tackle Patriot Act
David Fraser notes that Nova Scotia has become the latest province to introduce legislation designed to address the privacy concerns raised by the Patriot Act. B.C. and Alberta have also taken action.
The Supreme Court on Privacy
David Fraser points out that the Supreme Court of Canada has just released a decision, H.J. Heinz v. Attorney General (Canada), that includes a significant amount of privacy analysis. The case involves privacy considerations within the context of Access to Information Act requests. The divided court, which interestingly relies on the recent LaForest report on the potential merger of the Offices of the Information and Privacy Commissioners, says several noteworthy things about privacy and reflects some differences on the court on the merits of judicial intervention on privacy grounds.
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