OPC publishes guidance on Privacy and the COVID-19 outbreak
The COVID-19 outbreak is raising questions about privacy issues during a pandemic. The OPC has recently published guidance Privacy and the COVID-19 outbreak. It explains how during a public health crisis, privacy laws still apply but that they are not a barrier to necessary information sharing.
Since the management of public health crises is a matter involving coordination between all levels of government in Canada, a variety of public and private sector privacy legislation at the federal, provincial and territorial levels may find application. Some of the provincial and territorial privacy authorities that oversee compliance with the privacy legislation in their respective jurisdictions have also published their own statements relevant to the matter of COVID-19:
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of British Columbia
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Saskatchewan
- Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Yukon Information and Privacy Commissioner
- Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the Northwest Territories
This content has been updated on March 20, 2020 at 14 h 51 min.