Call for 2024 speaking proposals is open

Enhance your profile in the industry by speaking at the IAPP Canada Privacy Symposium 2024. The IAPP is looking for expert speakers to share their insights on privacy practice, law, policy and operations with hundreds of regulators and privacy professionals from all over Canada.

Speaking has its benefits
Seize the opportunity to give back to the community and share your expertise. You will also:

  • Identify yourself as a thought-leader in the data protection community.
  • Gain exposure with the world’s largest privacy association.
  • Elevate the profession by sharing your knowledge.
  • Receive a complimentary pass to next year’s main conference program.

We would love to get your take on hot topics such as:

  • Healthcare regulations across provinces.
  • AI governance.
  • Public sector privacy program operations.
  • Third-party vendor management.
  • Global regulatory developments.
  • Intersection of privacy and social justice.
  • Children's online privacy.
  • Cryptocurrency, blockchain and digital assets.
  • Emerging privacy technology and the Metaverse.

Submission instructions and tips

Submit your proposal

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2023 event highlights

The IAPP Canada Privacy Symposium was the biggest ever in 2023, with almost 1,000 people in attendance from all over Canada for compelling keynotes, banner breakout sessions, top-notch trainings and deep-dive workshops.

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne gave his first Symposium keynote, sharing his vision for Canadian privacy, a slew of recommendations to Parliament on Bill C-27 and stating he would be investigating ChatGPT with several provincial data protection authorities.

Ian Kerr Memorial lecturer Kristen Thomasen spoke about the lack of rights that people have when they are in public spaces. The Commissioners’ Game Show featured six commissioners from British Columbia to Labrador and was fun and informative for all.

Between the speakers, panels and networking sessions, there was a lot of discussion about the governance of artificial intelligence, the role privacy pros should play in that and how this rapidly-evolving technology could be regulated in Canada.

Other popular topics included the Quebec law, privacy-enhancing technologies like deidentification and anonymization and much more.

Access Symposium 2023 presentations

2023 keynote speakers

Philippe Dufresne

Privacy Commissioner of Canada

In his first Symposium address, Philippe Dufresne outlines the key elements of his vision for privacy, what they mean to him as privacy commissioner and for all Canadians.

Sue Gardner

Special Advisor, Wikimedia Foundation

Sue Gardner builds organizations that give people access to the information they want and need. Her main areas of interest are technology, media, gender and freedom.

 

Kristen Thomasen

Assistant Professor, Peter A. Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia

Kristen Thomasen’s work explores the changing nature of public space, as those spaces are opened more and more to personal-use technologies that are designed to capture data. Thomasen discusses the impacts law and regulation could have on how these technologies are deployed, and how the application of laws will shape the public spaces we frequent.

 

Keynote Panel

Moderator: Chantal Bernier

Co-chair, Global Privacy and Cybersecurity Group, Dentons

Anil Arora

Chief Statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada

Philippe Dufresne

Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Khaled El Emam

Professor and Canada Research Chair in Medical AI, Faculty of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa

Patricia Kosseim

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

 

The Next Privacy Challenge: Optimizing Data While Protecting Fundamental Rights
The volume and velocity of data is increasing at unprecedented rates, offering equally unprecedented opportunities for research, innovation and governance. How can we ensure the protection of human rights by jointly providing quality information and protecting privacy? This panel explores the established and emerging principles, frameworks and technologies to govern the ethical use of personal data.

 

Commissioners’ Game Show

Moderator: Kris Klein, CIPP/C, CIPM, FIP

Managing Director, Canada, IAPP; Partner, nNovation

 

Philippe Dufresne

Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Michael Harvey

Information and Privacy Commissioner for Newfoundland and Labrador

 

Patricia Kosseim

Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Michael McEvoy

Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia

 

Diane Poitras

Présidente, Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec

 

Tricia Ralph

Information and Privacy Commissioner for Nova Scotia

 

 
 

Once again, our regulators will took part in the annual Commissioners’ Game Show. It was fun for all as they entertained and educated our audience.

Tackling Canada’s hot topics

  • Artificial intelligence.
  • Canadian legislative updates.
  • Cybersecurity.
  • Data mapping, transfers and analytics.
  • Healthcare privacy.
  • Privacy-enhancing technologies.
  • Regulatory developments and enforcement.
  • Training and governance.

Return of the Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture

The IAPP was honored to continue the Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture at the Symposium. Dr. Kerr’s legacy of advancing the growth and visibility of our profession lives on in forward-thinking discourse from keynotes on the big stage.

This year, the IAPP welcomed Kristen Thomasen to the keynote stage for the Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture. Her work explores the changing nature of public space, as those spaces are opened more and more to personal-use technologies that are designed to capture data. Thomasen discussed the impacts law and regulation could have on how these technologies are deployed, and how the application of laws will shape the public spaces we frequent.

The University of Ottawa, Centre for Law, Technology and Society established the Ian R. Kerr Memorial Fund to continue his legacy by supporting students, innovative programming, and cutting-edge research. For more information please visit: https://techlaw.uottawa.ca/kerrfund.

Symposium 2023 on social media

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