Gov’t launches consultation on data, privacy

OTTAWA — The federal government said Tuesday it will hold consultations to look at the issue of data and privacy in an increasingly data-driven economy. “As much as Canadians enjoy new digital platforms, recent data breaches have made Canadians rightfully more anxious and more concerned in light of what’s happened with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica,” Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains told reporters on Parliament Hill. The process will consist of an online consultation with Canadians, as well as roundtables. The half-day roundtables will include about 20 to 25 participants and the government will aim to hold sessions “in as many geographic regions as possible” over the summer. “Over the next few months, we will be consulting the stakeholders from business, academia, civil society and people from right across Canada,” Bains said. The government will issue a report in the fall of 2018 that will serve as a guide for any legislative or policy changes that the government may make, he said. “We’re open to all options. I just don’t want to pre-judge the outcome of the consultation process,” Bains added. The government said in a press release that the potential of the data-driven economy has to be balanced with Canadians’ right to their data and privacy. It noted in a background document that “the digital transformation has brought with it new and uncharted challenges surrounding the changing nature of work, privacy, information and consent.” A discussion paper accompanying the consultation outlined a number of questions, including on how best to foster the adoption of digital technologies and the use of big data in Canada and how to balance innovation with protecting Canadians’ privacy. The announcement came the same day the House ethics committee released a preliminary report following its study into the controversy over data usage by now-defunct data analytics company Cambridge Analytica and Facebook Inc. The government was scheduled to publish Tuesday its response to a February ethics committee report which backed establishing a right to be forgotten in Canada and making privacy by design a central principle of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Tuesday's ethics committee report doubled down on some of those previously-stated recommendations, including amending PIPEDA to give the privacy commissioner enforcement powers, such as to make orders, impose fines for non-compliance, and give the commissioner's office broad audit powers. Bains said the recommendations of that committee “will be very helpful for the consultation.” “Issues around strengthening the privacy commissioner, working with changes to PIPEDA, are the kind of feedback that we’re looking for,” he said. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Gov’t launches consultation on data, privacy

News | June 19, 2018

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Gov’t launches consultation on data, privacy

News | June 19, 2018

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