Privacy Commissioner Recommends Amendments to the Privacy Act

In a statement to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (the Committee), the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Daniel Therrien, recommended sweeping changes to the Privacy Act.

Noting that the Privacy Act has remained essentially unchanged for three decades, the Privacy Commissioner recommended changes that fall under three broad categories: technological change, legislative modernization and enhanced transparency.

Some of the Privacy Commissioner’s specific recommendations include:

• that all information sharing under the Privacy Act be governed by written agreements;
• an explicit requirement for institutions to safeguard personal information in their control and report any privacy breaches to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC);
• expanding the scope of the Federal Court’s review powers under the Privacy Act;
• a necessity requirement for the collection of personal information;
• a requirement for institutions to conduct Privacy Impact Assessments and submit them to the OPC (currently only required in limited circumstances); and
• expanding the application of the Privacy Act to all government institutions, including Ministers’ Offices and the Prime Minister’s Office.

The OPC intends to provide further written submissions regarding these recommendations to the Committee next week.