Office Of The Privacy Commissioner Of Canada Tables 2022-2023 Annual Report

On September 19, 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) tabled its 2022-2023 Annual Report to Parliament (the Annual Report) on the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).  The Annual Report underlines the OPC’s efforts over the past year to protect and promote the fundamental privacy rights of Canadians in the digital era.

Among the statistics shared in the Annual Report, the OPC saw a 37% increase in complaints against public sector institutions compared to the previous year.  The number of breach reports from public sector institutions dropped by 36% in 2022-2023.  The Annual Report notes that the OPC “remains concerned about under-reporting, as many of the government institutions subject to the Privacy Act that handle sensitive personal information have never reported a breach”. 

In the private sector, there were 681 breach reports received by the OPC (a 6% increase compared to the previous year).  The majority of breach reports involved 3 main industry sectors, with 27% from the financial sector, 17% from telecommunications and 14% from professional services.  The leading cause of reported breaches was unauthorized access (66%).

The Annual Report also summarizes key investigations launched by the OPC in the past year, including COVID-related investigations. 

Further, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Philippe Dufresne, set out three priorities for the work of the OPC in the Annual Report:

• staying ahead of the fast-moving pace of technological advancement, especially with respect to artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI;
• protecting children's privacy; and
• preparing for potential law reform should Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act, be adopted by Parliament.

The full Annual Report can be found here.

Summary By: Victoria Di Felice