Thank goodness there was an FPT meeting of access and privacy commissioners this week, that they had something important to say and that there was then a federal Privacy Act annual report to contend with. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure the whole week would have been about Jian Ghomeshi. And while there are so many issues where that's concerned—some quite important, others ridiculous and some even privacy-related—there's just too much of it. What a circus. 

So, the federal, provincial and territorial access and privacy commissioners and ombudsmen got together in Ottawa this week. They took some time to issue a joint statement and discuss their views about privacy in the wake of a terrible incident—the shooting at the War Memorial—encouraging the government to remember to uphold fundamental privacy rights as they consider national security and public safety measures. Let's hope the government listens (I have my doubts) and only puts forth measures that truly make sense. 

Also this week, Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien's first public-sector annual report. Granted, it's a report that covers the period ending March 31—in advance of his mandate—but some interesting stuff in there, including the fact that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) was unable to determine the appropriateness of the RCMP's collection of subscriber data because apparently they have challenges keeping records, the long-awaited results of the investigation into ESDC breach #2 (USB key) and a study on metadata confirming that, indeed, from the OPC's point view, it can be personal information. 

Some stuff to chew on there, other than what's going on at the CBC. Happy Halloween to you all. Have fun with the ghosts and goblins, and try not to OD on the mini chocolate bars.