2018
News
SCC decision in R. v. Reeves – Data privacy: how much consent is enough consent?
Éloïse Gratton December 21, 2018
Last week, in R. v. Reeves, the Supreme Court of Canada clarified the law around an individual’s right to privacy in relation to shared devices, such as personal computers (Justices Côté and Moldaver wrote separate, concurring reasons). In holding that a third party cannot waive an individual’s rights under s. 8 of the Charter of Rights and […] Read more
News
New 2018 ETHI Report – Democracy under Threat: Risks and Solutions in the Era of Disinformation and Data Monopoly
Éloïse Gratton December 17, 2018
The Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics recently published its December 2018 Report : Democracy under Threat: Risks and Solutions in the Era of Disinformation and Data Monopoly. In late March 2018, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics began a study of the breach of personal […] Read more
News
Five Steps to Compliance with Privacy Consent Guidelines
Éloïse Gratton December 12, 2018
On January 1, 2019, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada will begin enforcing Guidelines for obtaining meaningful consent, which impose requirements for obtaining legally valid privacy consents. Compliance with the Guidelines will require many organizations to adjust their personal information practices/procedures and revise their privacy policies and related notifications. This bulletin summarizes five steps to compliance […] Read more
Legal News
Max Jarvie joins the BLG Privacy and Data Protection Group
Éloïse Gratton November 12, 2018
BLG is very proud to welcome Max Jarvie in the Privacy and Data Protection Group. He will be advising and assisting clients on a wide range of issues, including privacy and anti-spam, distributed ledger technology (blockchain), information security, licensing and consumer protection matters. Max brings a strong technical and blockchain legal expertise. Before studying law, he worked in information […] Read more
News
Privacy Commissioner launches investigation into Statistics Canada’s recent request from financial institutions
Éloïse Gratton October 31, 2018
There has been news reports yesterday about a project by Statistics Canada (“StatCan”) to collect information from financial institutions about their customers’ financial transactions. A few clients have reached out asking about StatCan’s authority to request such data. StatCan is relying on Section 13 of the Statistics Act, which appears to grant the institution broad […] Read more
News
Privacy Commissioner’s Guidance for Compliance with PIPEDA’s Breach of Security Safeguards Obligations
Éloïse Gratton October 30, 2018
On October 29, 2018 the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) issued a guidance document titled “What you need to know about mandatory reporting of breaches of security safeguards” (the “Guidance”) to help organizations comply with personal information security breach obligations under Canada’s federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). Commencing […] Read more
Events Legal
Formation de 3 heures à Montréal – Cybersécurité et vie privée des employés
Éloïse Gratton October 20, 2018
J’offrirai, avec mon associée Katherine Poirier, une formation de 3 heures au début du mois de novembre en matière de cybersécurité et vie privée des employés. Le vol d’informations confidentielles est un fléau en pleine croissance. Il devient donc essentiel de connaître le cadre juridique, d’identifier les risques afférents et de développer les outils nécessaire […] Read more
News
Our comments in response to the OPC Notice of consultation on new mandatory breach reporting guidance
Éloïse Gratton October 3, 2018
Brad Freedman, François Joli-coeur and I have submitted comments on October 2, 2018 in response to the Notice of consultation on new mandatory breach reporting guidance and form issued by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”). The Notice invites comments regarding the OPC’s draft guidance, published September 17, 2018, regarding the breach of […] Read more
News
Video – What should US companies know about Canadian privacy laws?
Éloïse Gratton September 24, 2018
Privacy laws are constantly evolving. Companies doing business in Canada need to be aware of their requirements. Privacy and data protection in Canada is typically more stringent than in the United States and includes regulations to govern the collection, use and sharing of personal information. In this video, I discuss the differences between Canadian and […] Read more
News
Preparing for Compliance with New Privacy Consent Guidelines
Éloïse Gratton September 21, 2018
Commencing January 1, 2019, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada will begin enforcing Guidelines for obtaining meaningful consent, which impose requirements and provide recommendations for private sector organizations to obtain legally valid consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information. The Guidelines specify requirements for the form and content of privacy policies/notices and for clear […] Read more