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PrivacyHORIZON: Vol. 1, No. 6 |
A chill ran through the FOI and privacy community last week after the Director of Corporate Access and Privacy for the city of Toronto was fired for releasing documents under Ontario's Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Rita Reynolds, a twelve year veteran of the post, went very public as senior Toronto bureaucrats charged that she was not a "team player" for releasing documents under MFIPPA that embarrassed some senior officials. The documents related to the award of a contract for the renovation and operation of Toronto's Union Station.
While this was a freedom of information and not a privacy issue, it calls into question the independence of people who must administer the requirements of FOI and privacy legislation in their organizations. How does one balance the interests of the public, as expressed in legislation, against the interest of the organization which can lose credibility or business if certain facts come to light, or if privacy is breached?
While the Chief Privacy Officer is a member of the corporate team, the CSA Privacy Code and many pieces of legislation state that the person is "accountable" for the application of legislation and fair information practices in the organization. This places the CPO in an occasionally confrontational position with his or her colleagues. The position requires authority. There needs to be a mechanism to deal with disputes amongst colleagues that is more fair and effective than traditional HR management and disciplinary measures. What happens when individual rights clash with corporate imperatives? [More…]
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The Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) is an important tool for ensuring that privacy requirements are built into any new program or system project. Several government jurisdictions have published PIA methodologies and some make completion of a PIA a condition for funding. What is a PIA? Which methodology do you choose? [More…] 
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PRIVA-CTM has just announced the launch of Managed Privacy Services, a packaged outsourcing service to address major privacy needs for an organization. The service includes gap assessment, policy development, training and other components to fill out your privacy program. The program is ideal for organizations that cannot hire a full time privacy officer. The program is being offered in the greater Toronto area and southern Ontario starting in September, and will be expanded across the country. [More…]
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Why is Privacy such a Hard Sell?
Privacy is a hard sell in health care. Most health care professionals think they're doing a great job at the moment. They aren't aware of the new requirements imposed by privacy legislation and fair information practices. Even if they did, they don't have the tools to help them do the job. [More…]
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Amendments to Alberta Health Information Act
Alberta has amended its Health Information Act. The most significant change is the repeal of section 59, a controversial section that required patient consent before health information could be exchanged electronically. [More…]
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Alberta Personal Information Protection Act
The Government of Alberta has tabled Bill 44 - The Personal Information Protection Act. If passed and if deemed "substantially similar" by the Federal Government, this bill will take effect instead of the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) on January 1, 2004. [More…] As with the BC privacy bill tabled last month, the Federal Privacy Commissioner has stated that Alberta's "Bill 44 has a number of very grave deficiencies…" [More…]
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Radwanski on Medical Research
The Federal Privacy Commissioner expressed his views on the applicability of PIPEDA to medical research in a speech to the Research Ethics Board in Ottawa on May 7, 2003. [More…]
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What to do if a Privacy Breach Occurs
The Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner has published guidelines on what to do if a privacy breach occurs. The guidelines are targeted at government organizations, but are useful for any organization in the broader public sector. [More…]
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