Commissioner’s Blog

LifeLabs recently notified the public about a cyberattack involving unauthorized access to its computer systems. Here is what you need to know about this breach: Our office is working with the B.C. privacy commissioner to investigate the breach. We will be looking at what measures LifeLabs could...

Police leaders from across Canada have launched new best practices for responding to sexual violence. They include a made-in-Ontario approach to case review, one that draws on community expertise, while still protecting the privacy of complainants, witnesses and others. Last week, the Canadian As...

The public’s right to access government information is an integral part of a high functioning, democratic, and accountable society. In Ontario, it is incumbent on government institutions to comply with our access laws, and it’s my job to look for any barriers to access that might arise, wheth...

The conversation about the compelling public interest override is ongoing for those of us who administer provincial access laws. Supporting the public’s efforts to access government information is important. It’s also vital that institutions carefully examine the public interest override prov...

On January 1, 2020, Part X of the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act comes into force, creating a new access and privacy framework for Ontario’s child and family services sector. The Information and Privacy Commissioner will oversee these new rules for the collection, use and disclosure of...

Despite the existence of access and privacy laws for the last three decades, some public institutions still occasionally lose sight of their purpose, which is to promote transparent and accountable government. A recent order by my office illustrates the high bar the law sets to justify denying an...

Open Letter from Commissioner Brian Beamish re: Sidewalk Labs’ Proposal

Last week, my office issued a health privacy decision after investigating a complaint about a Toronto cosmetic surgery clinic use of video surveillance cameras in its examination and other rooms. I was alerted to this possible violation of Ontario’s health privacy law by a reporter for CBC Mark...

The Toronto Police Service received a freedom of information request from a woman who wanted photographs of her deceased son. The police decided to grant partial access, making an exception to the personal privacy exemption on compassionate grounds but removing the image of another person in the ...

News stories and alerts about data breaches are popping up on our news feeds and social media channels with increased regularity. To help Ontario’s public sector organizations manage and prevent privacy breaches, the IPC has updated its guidance. A privacy breach occurs when personal informatio...