Jun 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update
On June 19, 2018, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (the “Committee”) made available the Government of Canada’s response to the Committee’s report (the “Report”), discussed in the March 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update, regarding the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (“PIPEDA”). In its response, the Government of Canada acknowledged that changes to Canada’s privacy regime are needed and it addressed the 19 recommendations of the Report under the four following themes:
- consent under PIPEDA, confirming that consent will continue to form the basis of Canadian privacy legislation but agreeing that the consent regime can be enhanced and clarified, particularly around issues such as social media and the protection of minors’ information online, and to ensure that Canada’s consent regime remains progressive and aligned with internationally recognized standards;
- online reputation and respect for privacy, noting that the risks in this area particularly impact young people and that there are divergent views on matters such as the right to de-indexing and erasure and questioning whether PIPEDA is the right mechanism for addressing de-indexing and erasure given its limited application to the commercial context;
- agreeing that PIPEDA’s enforcement mechanism can be improved and indicating that the government will look at various models of compliance and enforcement options, possibly including providing
ofthe Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada with increased enforcement powers (“OPC”); and - impact of the GDPR, advising that the Government is “working closely with the European Commission to understand the requirements for maintaining Canada’s adequacy standing under the EU GDPR” and indicating that the Government’s approach reflects the EU’s concept of “essential equivalence” rather than a one-to-one incorporation of GDPR principles into the Canadian regime.