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This week was Privacy Awareness Week, which is kind of a nice way to build momentum ahead of next week's IAPP Canada Privacy Symposium 2025 in Toronto.
Among its announcements for the week, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released the results of its bi-annual public opinion survey, revealing that about 90% of Canadians continue to be concerned about their privacy. Notably, there's a 22% trust gap: 62% say they trust government with their data, compared to only 40% for businesses.
The report shows how Canadians ranked various privacy concerns they have and outlines some of the steps people are taking to protect themselves. I can't say any of the numbers truly shocked me, but it's worth a read.
In Québec, the Commission d'accès à l'information used Privacy Awareness Week to remind organizations about the importance of limiting access to and sharing of personal information. They reinforced their message with a brief, informative video.
On the other side of the country, in British Columbia, Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael Harvey is literally pounding the pavement, embarking on a province-wide tour to speak face-to-face with British Columbians about their privacy and access-to-information rights. While I think this is a great initiative, I'll miss not seeing and talking to him next week at the conference. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia also published useful guidance clarifying rules for accessing personal information about deceased individuals, which sounds like a topic that has frequently caused confusion.
The kind folks of Saskatchewan have a new regulator to contend with. The province recently appointed Grace Hession David as its new information and privacy commissioner. She brings a strong legal background and says she is committed to raising awareness about artificial intelligence — its responsible use and potential misuse — and emphasizing the importance of cybersecurity for public bodies, local governments and health care organizations. David replaces the formidable, and one of kindest people, Ron Kruzeniski, who served since 2014 and who even once interviewed me for one of his podcasts.
Finally, with the federal election behind us, there seems to be some anticipation around how Canada's digital policies on privacy, cybersecurity and AI will evolve. Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne made a compelling argument this week in a Hill Times op-ed, making the case for modern privacy laws and why prioritizing privacy is good for Canada.
This is just a small slice of a busy week. We'll have much more to discuss in person next week, and a very full and stimulating program, so looking forward to seeing many of you in Toronto.
Oh, and here's the game the Commissioner's are going to be playing. Worth the price of admission on its own. Enjoy.
Kris Klein, CIPP/C, CIPM, FIP, is the managing director, Canada, for the IAPP.
This article originally appeared in the Canada Dashboard Digest, a free weekly IAPP newsletter. Subscriptions to this and other IAPP newsletters can be found here.