Message from the Chair
Welcome to a new CBA year! I am delighted to serve as your 2025/2026 Chair alongside our dynamic and talented Executive. I would like to welcome our new Executive members and extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Past Chair, Bill Abbott, for his dedication to our Section’s work. To the outgoing Executive members, thank you for your service to our Section.
Our section plays an important role in shaping the legal discourse and guiding our members through the rapidly evolving world of privacy and access law in Canada. Technological advancements and the digitalization of our lives have ushered in a host of challenging legal considerations involving AI-driven technologies and biometrics. From smart devices tracking daily habits to facial recognition systems identifying individuals in public spaces, these tools raise serious concerns about surveillance, data security, and ethical boundaries. As these technologies evolve, so too must our frameworks for protecting privacy in a hyper-connected world.
This is an exciting time, and our Section’s work has never been more relevant. Thank you for attending our events, including our flagship Privacy & Access Law Conference, which tackles some of these cutting-edge topics, and for engaging with us by submitting members articles or participating in our advocacy work.
In-person Privacy and Access Law Conference
We are pleased to announce that our annual conference on the latest advances in Privacy and Access was a great success. The event, which took place on in Ottawa on November 6-7, 2025, attracted more than 200 participants from academia, industry and government. The conference featured keynote speeches by renowned experts, panel discussions featuring subject matter experts on current challenges and opportunities, and our popular Canadian Update session, the Regulators’ panel, and the International Update session. The conference showcased the marked shift on the horizon for privacy, access and AI. We would like to thank all the speakers, panelists, presenters and attendees for their valuable contributions and lively interactions. We hope that the conference stimulated new ideas and collaborations among the Privacy community. We look forward to seeing you at the next edition of the conference in 2026!
Fall Law Series
Past programs
Purchase live and on-demand webinars from past Law Series: fall 2024, spring 2024, fall 2023, spring 2023, fall and spring 2022. You can search webinars by series to pick the programs that meet your needs.
AI Academy
Lawyers looking to expand their knowledge of AI are encouraged to explore the CBA’s own AI Academy. The AI Academy is a curated learning series designed to demystify artificial intelligence for legal professionals. The platform delivers practical, hands-on content developed by legal and technology experts. All content is tailored for and free to CBA members across Canada until January 31, 2026.
CBA Privacy and Access Law Section Student Essay Contest
The CBA Privacy and Access Law Section established an annual Law Student Essay Contest with the objectives of promoting interest in Privacy and Access Law topics in Canadian law schools and participation by Canadian law students in the Privacy and Access Law Section.
For more information about the criteria and eligibility or to enter the contest, click here.
We want to hear from you!
We encourage you to bring your insights, experience and passion to our Section’s activities. Besides attending the annual Symposium or one upcoming Law Series webinars, you can submit a member article to be published on our webpage, or participate in our advocacy work. If you want to get involved or have suggestions, please contact us.