Commissioner’s Blog

Last week the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed Canadians’ rights to undergo genetic testing without fear they may be forced to disclose the results to others and suffer discriminatory treatment based on a genetic condition they might find. On July 10, the Court upheld the constitutionalit...

Today marks my first day as Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. I am truly honoured to have been appointed to lead this office, working with a highly skilled and dedicated team of professionals to serve the people of Ontario. I am particularly grateful to my predecessor, Brian Beami...

Today I released the final annual report of my five-year term. Throughout my tenure as commissioner, I have advocated for increased openness and transparency, encouraging governments to share more, not less, with citizens. My office has backed up this commitment with advice and guidance materials...

I want to thank you and your staff for all that you are doing to protect the public’s health during this crisis. At a time like this, people depend on public servants more than ever, and it’s heartening to see health care workers and other essential staff across the province demonstrate their...

I want to extend my congratulations to Patricia Kosseim on her appointment as the next Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. I know Patricia to be a committed professional who brings a wealth of experience as a regulator and privacy and access lawyer. I am confident she will carry out ...

As I write this, people are trying to come to terms with a ‘new normal’ and adapting to the restrictions and fears that this health crisis has brought to our everyday lives. I think about our friends in the health and child protection sectors who continue to provide essential and often life-s...

The indiscriminate scraping of the internet to collect images of people’s faces for law enforcement purposes has significant privacy implications for all Ontarians. We have made it clear in the past that my office should be consulted before this type of technology is used. We were not aware tha...

Today is Privacy Day. It also marks my last Privacy Day as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. As my term comes to an end, my thoughts turn to the accomplishments of the last five years and the challenges that lay before us. My first task on being appointed commissioner was to se...

New year, new rules. In Ontario, children, youth and families now have a legally protected right to request access and corrections to their personal information held by children’s aid societies and other service providers. They can also file privacy complaints with our office. These changes too...

As the new year approaches, so does the time to submit your statistics to the IPC. First, let me say that I appreciate the important work that institutions and health information custodians do to keep track and report statistics relating to requests under Ontario’s freedom of information and he...