By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the sad, but inevitable news that the IAPP Symposium in Toronto is not going to happen this year as originally planned. It seems that social distancing is going to have to last a bit longer. That being said, the IAPP is still producing a ton of educational resources for you to consume and I encourage you to spend some time in their Resource Center to see what might be of interest, or helpful, to you.
Quarantine is supposed to be a great time for personal improvement, right? You know, you can do online IAPP training and also train yourself in how to make sourdough bread (apparently it’s all the rage). You don’t have to choose!
Another thing I’m glad to report is that the IAPP is going to keep its commitment to hold the inaugural Ian Kerr Memorial Lecture. Ian’s friend and colleague, Michael Geist, has agreed to stick with the original plan and give the lecture — virtually. I, for one, was really looking forward to this part of the Symposium so I’m pleased it’s going ahead. We will release the details soon, but for now I ask you to mark your calendars for May 22 — probably around noon or 1 p.m. EST. I’m sure Ian would like the idea of us using technology in this positive way to get together and to keep the idea of the memorial lecture going.
Technology is, of course, also front and center this week because of its role in tracing and tracking COVID-19 cases. The former commissioner for Ontario, Ann Cavoukian, penned an op-ed about it, which we summarize below and I encourage you to read. Glad to see privacy leaders out there raise these questions about how we can work to better protect public safety and individual privacy rights at the same time.
And, speaking of commissioners from Ontario, there’s more big news this week: Patricia Kosseim (from Osler and before that, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada) has been appointed to take over from Brian Beamish in July 2020, when his term ends. We wish Pat congratulations and good luck in her new role, although knowing her talents, I don’t think she needs any luck at all. She’s a great fit for the role.
On that note, I’d like to wish you a good weekend. Yes, it is the weekend, even if the days are looking pretty much the same.