On Wednesday 29 May, a very important piece of guidance came down from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario.
The guidance assists justice, health and social services professionals in making informed decisions about privacy, confidentiality and public safety in situations of intimate partner violence risk.
The guidance is intended to support professionals by explaining when Ontario's privacy laws permit sharing personal information without consent, particularly when there is a risk of serious harm to a person's health or safety. It was developed in response to a recommendation from a 2022 inquest by the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario into the tragic deaths of three women due to intimate partner violence.
Over the years, we've often heard officials blame privacy laws when they thought the laws prevented the sharing of personal information in dangerous situations like intimate partner violence. Sadly, this has even resulted in tragic consequences. So, I'm glad the IPC published this guidance and has been promoting it quite a bit on social and traditional media.
Even our first generation privacy laws, which date back to policy thinking in the 1970s, contemplate the sharing of personal information — even without consent — in these types of situations, yet misunderstandings about the law persist.
It has always bothered me when I hear people blaming privacy laws, as if they somehow preventing good and ethical things. I applaud the IPC's work on this topic, and I hope the professionals who need it study it well.
On a different note, I don't want to sound like a broken record, but the IAPP Canada Privacy Symposium might sell out this year. And, no, I can't pull any strings to get you in once it is. So don't delay any longer or you might miss your chance to attend the event of the year.
Have a great weekend and looking forward to seeing many of you in Toronto really soon.