Privacy Commissioner

Slaw: Privacy management guide aims to improve accountability

April 26, 2012 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

The privacy commissioners of Canada, Alberta and British Columbia have developed a guide to help organizations implement an effective privacy management program that meets private-sector privacy legislation and to provide consistent direction on what it means to be an accountable organization when dealing with individuals’ personal information…

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Video surveillance and the workplace – Part 2

April 20, 2012 David Hyde Human Resources, Privacy and Security

A mixture of incognizance and apathy often prevails in the private sector when it comes to understanding and applying legal privacy considerations in the installation and use of video cameras…

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Personal information online: new tools, old responsibilities

October 24, 2011 Adam Gorley Employee Relations, Human Resources, Privacy and Security

Sometimes, technology creates new ways to exploit information faster than the law and business can keep up. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen in the case of behavioural advertising. Last year, the Privacy Commissioner conducted consultations on the new ways that organizations are collecting and using customers’ personal information, and prepared its Report on the 2010 Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s Consultations on Online Tracking, Profiling and Targeting, and Cloud Computing.

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Proposed privacy changes in British Columbia

October 14, 2011 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Privacy and Security

The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2011 (Bill 3) was introduced in the British Columbia legislature on October 4, 2011. The Bill aims to facilitate digitization, compiling, sharing and combining of personal data across government ministries (including the Ministry of Labour, Citizens’ Services and Open Government). Individuals would be able to access government services with a secure digital identification card and personal ID number.

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Employer performed unauthorized credit checks on employees

December 10, 2010 Christina Catenacci Human Resources, Privacy and Security

I recently read an investigation report from the Alberta Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, where an employer made a big mistake and ended up violating the privacy of at least 25 employees.

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Privacy risk management – by design

June 10, 2010 Colin Braithwaite Human Resources, Privacy and Security

I’ve discussed the Privacy by Design principle before, in the Inside Internal Control newsletter. In case you don’t know, PbD is an approach developed by Dr. Ann Cavoukian, the Privacy Commissioner of Ontario, which proactively embeds privacy protection by default in the design of an organization’s practices and products.

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