Two things to talk about this week.

First, we’re already knee-deep in organizing and planning our Symposium for next spring (May 11 and 12). Our Canadian Advisory Board is all set to evaluate the speaking proposals that are starting to pour in. If you have an idea for a session, don’t miss out on your opportunity to try and get on the agenda. We’re hoping that this year’s conference will be the largest to-date, so that means more sessions to plan. So, whether it be privacy reform, Big Data, health information protection or whatever other privacy-related topic strikes your fancy, don’t miss out on getting your proposal in. 

Related to this topic is a call out to everyone to please get in touch with me if you know already that you will not be attending the conference. We want to make it as accessible as ever, so understanding why people might not attend is a big help. Please let me know. And, if this doesn’t convince you it’s worth attending … the reception at the end of day one will be at the Steamwhistle Brewery. How can anyone resist?

The second thing I wanted to mention is that I’ve been quite busy lately training people to get their CIPP/C. While there is still work to be done to get EVERYONE certified, the CIPP/C program is doing well. In fact, I’ve seen more and more job posters listing the credential as a preferred asset for people looking for privacy-related professional opportunities. The question I have for everyone relates to the CIPM. So far, Canadians have not, for reasons that escape me, taken advantage of this credential and, yet, it is doing very well in other parts of the world. We’re thinking of hosting public training on the CIPM in various locations across Canada, but before we do, we need to gauge interest. Is this something you would consider getting trained on? If so, where would you like to see the training offered? Let me know.