2023

Canada’s privacy regulatory framework is characterized by a principles-based, rather than rules-based, approach, putting on the shoulders of organizations accountability for its implementation; and by an ombudsman model providing recommendations rather than exercising enforcement powers. This distinctiveness is about to fade to give way to a new Canadian model. We explore here the general new convergences and divergences between Canadian and foreign privacy law.

This article addresses the trends that have emerged as privacy litigation has increased: (1) class actions; (2) the development of the common law privacy torts; and (3) privilege issues relating to expert reports prepared following data breaches.

In 2019, the Alberta and Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioners (each an “IPC” and together the “IPCs”) were presented with the same question: do blocked Twitter handles amount to personal information?

The British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act provides that personal information in the custody or control of a public body must be stored and accessed in Canada and disclosed only as permitted by the express provisions of FIPPA.

In an increasingly digitized and public world, it is important not to lose sight of our existing privacy laws, and the protections they provide, but also the parameters they provide to the use of personal information that may be found in public.

The use and sale of recreational cannabis became legal in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018. Legalization brought with it a number of notable legal concerns, with privacy becoming a headline issue that lawyers, consumers, and businesses need to keep in mind.

Our social media footprint is often a highly curated collection of information, ideas, and images that we hold close to our identity. Whether we’re attending an event on Facebook, Instagramming a workout routine, taking a Snap at a family gathering, or making a professional post on LinkdIn, our posts reflect something akin to the best version of ourselves.

Alex Cameron, Daniel Fabiano and Robin Spillette of Fasken Martineau look at two PIPEDA guidance documents published in the spring by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, and the implications they contain for organizations subject to that law.

Note: A version of this article originally was published on April 24, 2018 as “Office of the Privacy Commissioner reorganization and what it means” in The Lawyer’s Daily, an online publication of LexisNexis Canada Inc.

Following the stabbing death of a nightclub promoter on Jan. 27, Vancouver City Council has faced calls to make the Granville Entertainment District safer.