The prime minister came out with marching orders for his ministers this week. To Minister Champagne (the one in charge of private sector privacy laws) he wrote: “Introduce legislation to advance the Digital Charter, strengthen privacy protections for consumers and provide a clear set of rules that ensure fair competition in the online marketplace.”
To be clear, there were a whole ton of other things the minister is supposed to accomplish. The word “privacy” was only mentioned once, and it ain’t at the top of the list. But this, coupled with last week’s statements from Minister Champagne, seem to indicate something is forthcoming.
This week, I’m providing training to about 20 professionals at Deloitte. It’s virtual (of course) and, as we go through the content, I can’t help but think that our IAPP materials will be quite a bit different at this time next year. Things are changing so quickly in our field. Case in point, we were chatting today about transborder data flows in the public sector, and the slide’s notes mentioned that two provinces had data localization requirements: Nova Scotia and British Columbia. Of course, that slide is already out of date with B.C. repealing that aspect of their public-sector law only a few weeks ago.
I’ve been doing privacy-related work since the mid-1990s (does that make me old?), and I can’t remember a time when things were stagnant. Between international and domestic changes coming at us all the time, the word “dynamic” definitely fits. And it sure keeps it fun and interesting.
So, what is the one tried and true activity I do every week to make sure I stay on top of this ever-changing industry? Well, among other things, I read the Digest the curious, smart people at the IAPP have pulled together. And so should you.
Have a great weekend.