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Upgraded patient care areas opening at Royal Inland Hospital by Province of British Columbia https://flic.kr/p/2qeGUtB CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 228: Kumanan Wilson on Why Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Privacy Protection in the Trump Era

The craziness of the Trump administration relationship with Canada was on full display this past week as seemingly every day involved some form of policy change on tariffs – first on, then slightly delayed for some goods, then slightly delayed for more goods and by week’s end threats of new tariffs. Given the uncertainty, I recently co-wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail together with Dr. Kumanan Wilson that sought to put the spotlight on another issue that could come to the fore if the economic battle moves beyond tariffs to other issues. In this case – privacy, data localization and health data.

Dr. Wilson is a specialist in General Internal Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital,  Chief Executive Officer/Chief Scientific Officer, Bruyère Research Institute, a Professor and Faculty of Medicine Clinical Research Chair in Digital Health Innovation at the University of Ottawa and member of the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics. He joins the Law Bytes podcast to discuss why we should be paying attention to health privacy, AI and the location of our data.

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March 10, 2025 — 0 comments — Podcasts
Trudeau at National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism by Michael Geist

When Words Fail: Reflections on the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism

I was pleased to attend the National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism in Ottawa yesterday. It is easy to be cynical: the event came at least a year late, even reassuring words of support (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again declared that “no one in Canada should be afraid to call themselves a Zionist. I am a Zionist”) lose their impact when action repeatedly does not align with those words, and the absence of Conservative MPs made the event more political than needed. Further, I remain skeptical that everyone is ready for the hard action of implementing and enforcing antisemitism standards in schools, universities, and workplaces as well as consistently applying the anti-hate laws already on the books.

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March 7, 2025 — 5 comments — News
2024.05.02 Pro-Jewish at GWU, Washington, DC USA 123 119198 by Ted Eytan CC BY-SA 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/2pNH256

The National Antisemitism Forum: Why Failing to Act Now Must Not Be An Option

Months of relentless antisemitism seems to have finally sparked a response in a growing number of countries with political initiatives in the United States, Australia, France and Germany aimed at countering Jew hatred not seen in generations. While Canadian leaders have too often mistaken tweets for action, that could change this week as politicians, law enforcement, and community leaders gather in Ottawa for a government initiated National Forum on Combatting Antisemitism.

Given the security risks, organizers have kept many of the details under wraps. Indeed, the fact that an event on combatting antisemitism could draw protesters and raise fears of disruption or physical violence demonstrates why it is so essential. Since the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, Jewish events, synagogues, and community centres in Canada have required heightened security as frequent targets of shootings, vandalism, and antisemitic protests.

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March 5, 2025 — 0 comments — News
President Trump Meets with the Prime Minister of Canada by Trump White House https://flic.kr/p/2hUyqii PDM 1.0

Canadian Health Data Requires Stronger Safeguards With Lost Canada-U.S. Trust

With today’s implementation of tariffs on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, the level of mistrust between our countries has grown, whether urgent calls to “Buy Canadian” or boos and catcalls at the playing of the American national anthem. Should we continue down this path, Mr. Trump will surely seek to exploit more of Canada’s potential vulnerabilities. Last week, I co-wrote an op-ed with Kumanan Wilson on one such vulnerability: our health data, whose protection has yet to attract much attention but which could emerge as an issue.

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March 4, 2025 — 5 comments — Columns
512px-Camera_TV_-_Radio-Canada_-_CBC_News by Chicoutimi, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 227: Tara Henley on How to Save the CBC

Debates over the role and future of the CBC are seemingly about as old as the CBC itself. Those debates have become increasingly fractious in recent years as some see the public broadcaster as essential to Canadian culture and to address concerns about misinformation, while other insist it is hopelessly biased, outdated, and a threat to marketplace competition. Tara Henley is a Canadian writer, journalist and podcaster who spent years at the CBC. Several years ago, she quit the CBC in very public fashion and has since developed an important presence online through her podcasts and Substack. She’s recently wrote an important piece on how to save the CBC and she joins the Law Bytes podcast this week to discuss.

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March 3, 2025 — 1 comment — Podcasts
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