It was interesting this week to see news stories about how parliamentarians were exploring privacy issues.

A Senate Committee was reviewing a bill that would give more power to American border guards that operate at Canadian airports. A number of organizations made submissions, including the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. Most were calling for the bill to be amended to provide better privacy protection to Canadians but the Canadian Ambassador to the United States took the opposite angle. The exchange between the parliamentarians and the ambassador was actually quite entertaining. Read the story below to get the details.

Another story arose because the ETHI committee called Equifax’s Canadian privacy officer to answer some questions about the breach. It’s clear from the comments made by some of the committee members that they were displeased with certain aspects of the credit bureau’s handling of the affair. It made me wonder if their displeasure might provide motivation to make changes to our laws. They are, after all, the ones empowered to make the most significant changes in that regard.

By the way, Equifax’s privacy officer in Canada is John Russo and we’re working at trying to get him to speak on a panel at next spring’s Symposium. I hope that works out. After all, I figure if he can handle the grilling from the ETHI committee, he can surely find comfort in talking to fellow privacy professionals about his experience.
Fingers crossed!

I’ll also briefly mention that a parliamentary committee has been hearing from witnesses about the revamped national security legislation. Did the government strike the right balance in the end? While some seem to think so, others have been pointing out some areas for improvement.

Enjoy the news and, more importantly, enjoy the weekend!