When we talk about Quebec and privacy, we tend to focus on the new privacy law and helping our clients or organizations comply with it.
Today, I wanted to take a moment to share, if you weren't already aware, that Diane Poitras, the president of the Commission d’accès à l’information, Quebec's access to information and privacy regulator since December 2019, retired.
Poitras worked with the CAI for many years before becoming its president and made many important contributions to the field, which they detail in the announcement. Personally, I wanted to highlight a few things that stood out for me during her leadership:
- I stand to be corrected, but I think it is with Poitras that we have seen a trend toward much more domestic collaboration in terms of joint investigations among DPAs with private sector oversight. As privacy practitioners, we know that dealing with issues with separate regulator offices can be quite tricky and confusing. So, I think more collaboration is great for clarity, for compliance, and for Canadians.
- Poitras regularly attended IAPP Canada conferences and connected with privacy pros from across the country. She generously shared her knowledge and the regulator's approach to novel issues created by Quebec's Law 25 and she even graciously participated in the famous "Commissioners Game Show" a few times.
- Poitras had the incredible task of being at the helm for the creation and coming into force of a new law. You may recall during conference sessions instances where she was firm about her expectations of organizations and other instances where she was very transparent about not having figured it all out. I absolutely loved her candor and it gave me the sense of openness, flexibility and that, as a community, we're in this together.
Anyway, if you wish to read the CAI's announcement about Poitras' departure and retirement it is here. My understanding is that the interim president of the CAI is the current Vice President Maitre Rady Khuong.
Merci Mme Poitras, félicitations et bonne retraite!