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Shoppers at a FreshCo in Toronto did a bit of a double-take this week when they noticed cashiers were wearing body-worn cameras. Sobeys, the parent company, says it's a pilot to deter harassment and theft. Earlier this year, there was news about these cameras being used at a Shoppers Drug Mart. Loblaw, again the parent company, widened its pilot into select communities in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario.
We're also seeing body-worn cameras on other front lines. The Toronto Transit Commission moved to full deployment for special constables and fare inspectors. Vancouver launched a pilot for parking enforcement officers to address abuse toward staff. I'm sure there are many more and I'd be interested to know if your organization is using the tech and for what purposes.
Store cameras certainly aren't new. When they first showed up, I remember the debate was all about how to do it right. Go back 20-odd years and the federal privacy commissioner at the time vehemently fought a single Royal Canadian Mounted Police street camera in Kelowna, even testing the issue under the Charter. There was lots of drama — and thanks to my job at the time, I was involved — but one aspect of the message back then was clear: be careful about normalizing video in public spaces. Well, I think that ship has sailed.
And if you think cameras are just for cops and cashiers, think again. One of my clients sells body-worn cameras for amateur sports officials. Why? Because apparently nothing says "Saturday morning fun" like a parent going full Jerry Springer drama over a penalty call against their 9-year-old phenom. These cameras aren't about catching the next Connor McDavid — they're about catching the next meltdown before someone ends up on YouTube titled "Hockey Dad Loses It."
It's a fascinating use case: the cameras don't change the rules of the game, but they do change the tone. When parents know the referee is recording, suddenly everyone remembers their inside voice. Well, most of the time. There's still that one mom or dad who thinks the Charter of Rights and Freedoms applies to offside calls.
To be clear, today cameras are everywhere. At my local Home Depot, the self-checkouts now show a small window with my face as I scan. I think there was some sort of explanation as to why, but I've forgotten if there was. The tech keeps shrinking while the use cases grow. The question isn't whether cameras exist. It's how we govern them in different settings.
Local context matters too. In my home-town of Ottawa, we heard this week that police-reported crime rose about 63% over the last decade, a stat that tends to surface during budget talks. People feel that statistic in their neighborhoods and in their local shops. I can tell you that at our condo, cameras are now involved and have helped — a bit. But they're only part of a broader safety plan and not the whole answer to a much more complex issue.
So what does "good" look like, especially for body-worn cams? On the public sector side, law enforcement rollouts appear to be happening with ongoing dialogue and advice from the federal and provincial regulators. On the private sector side, things change when recording turns into analytics. If a retailer moves into face detection or recognition at the till, we're in biometrics territory and I know our regulators will be watching closely, just ask Canadian Tire. Today's guidance sets the bar: show necessity and proportionality, give clear notice and get consent where required, do a data protection impact assessment, keep retention short, lock down access and make vendor contracts ban model training or other secondary use.
In plain terms: start with whether cameras are needed at all, given the scope of the problem. If they are, be clear with people, record narrowly, delete quickly, audit access, and lock down the contracts. And maybe don't use my face for your next funny AI-generated video. Ok, that last line is mostly for my kids.
Kris Klein, CIPP/C, CIPM, FIP, is the country leader, 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.
