I’m not a huge party animal. Generally, the thought of staying at home, watching the Sens on TV and enjoying a glass of wine sounds like the perfect evening. And sometimes, the opposite of this turns into a great night. Of course, I’m speaking about the awesome Privacy After Hours (PAH) we had in Ottawa last evening. With the Sens on TV later in the evening, and with a ton of work piling up, there were lots of reasons why staying home might make more sense. But, I’m glad the extrovert got the better of me and I ventured out—in the middle of a thunderstorm—for a great opportunity to meet with fellow privacy professionals from the Ottawa area.

We had, among other things, some crystal-ball gazing with Wally Hill from the Canadian Marketing Association; lamenting the romantic nature of getting handwritten mail with Canada Post’s CPO Amanda Maltby; trading "war stories" with fellow privacy lawyer David Elder, and some Ottawa U privacy law students rubbing elbows with ATIP coordinators, regulators and other seasoned experts. So, all in all, there was no shortage of great chit-chat. 

Obviously, there was a lot of talk about the fallout from the Schrems Safe Harbor case—what Canada’s position on all of this should be and whether or not we will see some Canadian officials step up to the plate and hit a Jose Batista home run with it (perhaps without the same “bat flip” as we saw on Wednesday night).

What was your Privacy After Hours like? And if you didn’t attend, will you the next time? I’m sure, with it being in the dead of winter, that there will be a lot of reasons to stay home and out of the elements. But, take my word, there aren’t many opportunities that are as rewarding and fun as these PAHs. So I hope you partake. And if there isn’t one in your community, let me know and I’ll show you how easy it is to start one up.