Canada

The CIO Strategy Council published a new National Standard of Canada for third-party access to data last week, news that quickly got buried after Sidewalk Labs announced it was pulling the plug on its smart city project in Toronto. And while the rest of the country argues over whether or…

An Ontario emergency order — which compels public health authorities to give requested COVID-19 data to first responders— lacks built-in transparency or accountability measures, said Teresa Scassa, professor at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. The order allows police, firefighters and paramedics to obtain information about individuals with whom…

On May 7, 2020, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) and the provincial and territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners issued a joint statement on privacy principles for contact tracing and similar apps. (Aside: yes, not to be left out of the hero category, they really did refer…

Last week Toronto’s York University fell victim to what appears to be a ransomware attack, according to cybersecurity expert David Masson, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Masson, director of enterprise security at cybersecurity firm Darktrace, says there have been multiple advisories recently warning healthcare providers, municipalities and academic…

It is not only hackers who pose a risk to an organization’s information security; hostile insiders do as well. According to Verizon, an estimated 34 percent of data breaches involve internal actors. Hostile insiders may be motivated by personal reasons (e.g., peeking at personal information of their employer’s customer base…

The safety and security of Canadians is of grave concern in the current COVID-19 health crisis. The urgency of limiting the spread of the virus is a significant challenge for government and  public  health  authorities,  who  are  looking  for  ways  to  leverage  personal  information to contain and gain insights about…

In October 2017, Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto set out to plan a shared vision for Quayside, a fundamentally more sustainable and affordable community resulting from innovations in technology and urban design. Since the project began, I’ve met thousands of Torontonians from all over the city, excited by the possibility…

May 4, 2020 Public consultation on the Personal Information Protection Act begins today VICTORIA – The Legislative Assembly has appointed an all-party special committee to seek input from British Columbians on the effectiveness of the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). The act governs how private sector organizations collect, use, and…

CRTC is not handing out a ton of fines for violations or undertakings under CASL and the private right of action has been indefinitely postponed, so why bother changing your organization’s email practices when targeting Canadian citizens? Why Bother? There is a person at the other end of every single…

For those who may have missed the public letter to Minister Bains from our Federal Privacy Commissioner, regarding Canada’s lack of action in the area of privacy laws. Daniel Therrien is not mincing words.   November 23, 2018 The Hon. Navdeep Singh Bains, P.C. Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic…