Pandemic has increased need for privacy rights, OPC told Guilbealt

COVID-19 has made privacy rights even more important, the federal privacy commissioner’s office told Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault in May. A presentation prepared by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner ahead of a meeting with Guilbeault in early May, and obtained through Access to Information, includes a section on the impact of the pandemic. A rights-based approach to privacy is now even more important to maintain Canadians’ confidence in technologies like e-health and contact-tracing, the French-language presentation states. “There is no confidence without an effective protection of rights,” it says. Another section of the presentation outlines that many Canadians don’t believe their privacy is being respected by governments or private entities. Because of increased collaboration between the private and public sectors, there is a need for common principles to be included in the separate legislation that governs both, it added. Under a rights-based approach, legislation would look at privacy as a fundamental right, not a collection of technical rules, the presentation explains. The privacy commissioner has long been calling for increased powers, and last December outlined the need for such a rights-based approach. In a letter to Guilbeault sent to congratulate him on being named minister in November 2019, privacy commissioner Daniel Therrien wrote that only 38 per cent of Canadians believe businesses respect privacy rights. “In two-thirds of the complaints my Office receives under our private-sector privacy law, we find that the law is not respected. This is untenable,” the letter said. That means there is a need for fundamental changes to the law. “Incorporating a right-based framework in our privacy laws, along with effective enforcement mechanisms, would provide the necessary conditions to allow for responsible innovation and foster trust in government and business, giving individuals the confidence to fully participate in the digital age,” it said. The May 7 meeting was organized in response to that letter, a briefing note prepared ahead of the meeting outlined. It noted that the mandate letter for Guilbeault calls on him to work with Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains to implement new privacy rules following the Digital Charter principles, enhanced powers for the OPC, and the creation of a new data commissioner, among other initiatives. The meeting came a few weeks before Therrien told the House industry committee that the lack of sufficient privacy legislation would hamper COVID-19 tracing apps. The briefing note indicates the OPC was curious about how the work of the new data commissioner would compare to the work of the OPC. “While we understand that a Data Commissioner will oversee regulations related to personal data and encourage greater competition in the digital marketplace, we may want to ask the Minister for additional details on how the government envisages the work of this new Commissioner in relation to our Office’s work,” it says.

Pandemic has increased need for privacy rights, OPC told Guilbealt

Brief | June 30, 2020

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Pandemic has increased need for privacy rights, OPC told Guilbealt

Brief | June 30, 2020

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