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.
Wiertz Sebastien - Privacy by Sebastien Wiertz (CC BY 2.0) https://flic.kr/p/ahk6nh
Privacy
Ottawa Releases Strategy for Privacy and the Patriot Act
The Canadian government has released a new document establishing a strategy for concerns about cross-border data flows, the USA Patriot Act, and personal privacy. I’ll have more to say about the document soon.
Priorities
Yesterday's Speech from the Throne matched expectations as the focus was unsurprisingly on the Conservatives' five priorities. There were, however, several noteworthy inclusions and omissions. While there was no specific mention of copyright and the WIPO Treaties, Howard rightly points out that speech did say that "significant treaties will be […]
Beyond Google
The Department of Justice’s subpoena of Google search data generated considerable attention last month with a judge ultimately ordering disclosure of only a fraction of what the U.S. government initally demanded. At the time, the coverage noted that Google was not the only target with similar requests to AOL, Microsoft, […]
The Telecom Policy Review: The Rest of the Story
Coverage of the release last week of Canada's telecommunications policy review centered primarily on the call for a new regulatory approach that emphasizes market independence over government interference combined with a slimmed-down CRTC and list of policy priorities. My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, webpage version) focuses on the rest of the story as the report identified a series of important areas – including network neutrality, ubiquitous broadband access, privacy, spam, and consumer protection – that merit government intervention or support.
Recent Posts
Canada’s DST Debacle a Case Study of Digital Strategy Trouble 
Canadian Government Caves on Digital Services Tax After Years of Dismissing the Risks of Trade Retaliation 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 238: David Fraser on Why Bill C-2’s Lawful Access Powers May Put Canadians’ Digital Security At Risk 
Ignoring the Warning Signs: Why Did the Canadian Government Dismiss the Trade Risks of a Digital Services Tax? 
Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk
