2020

Class actions are emerging as a potential venue for litigants to seek compensation for privacy breaches. The recent approval of a class action settlement in Lozanski v The Home Depot, Inc. by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is notable as one of the few privacy breach class action settlements in Canada.

In-house counsel together pose the question “is PIPEDA up to the challenge?” And, collectively, the authors of this article answer “yes.” Canada’s privacy legislation has strong bones and is able to grow with and adapt to changes in the way personal information is collected and used.

It's been almost three years since Manitoba's private sector privacy bill, The Personal Information Protection and Identity Theft Prevention Act, was passed by the Manitoba Legislature. PIPITPA would put Manitoba on the same footing as other Canadian provinces that have their own private sector privacy laws which are substantially similar to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.

Suzanne Morin, formerly with Bell Aliant, studies the decision in R. v. Spencer, in which the Supreme Court of Canada definitively rejected the narrow protocol developed by the Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation.

Alex Cameron of Fasken Martineau looks at the privacy and information security landscape in Canada. Legal risk, he says, is currently one of the most important drivers in this area, with the potential for significant liabilities and costs.

Privacy Law Chair Deirdre L. Wade, Q.C., of Cox and Palmer, looks at the 5th Annual Access to Information and Privacy Law Symposium. The theme was adapting to the rapid pace of technological change and determining what our organizations need to do…