News Releases

Canadian laboratory testing company found in violation of privacy laws TORONTO – Thursday, June 25, 2020 – A joint investigation by the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Ontario and BC has found that LifeLabs failed to protect the personal health information of millions of Canadians re...

TORONTO, ON (May 28, 2020) – The privacy of Ontarians is at risk in the face of new and emerging technologies unless the government works to modernize its privacy laws. In the final annual report of his five-year term, released today, Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Brian Beam...

Joint Statement by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners[1] May 7, 2020   The safety and security of Canadians is of grave concern in the current COVID-19 health crisis. The urgency of limiting the spread of the virus is a significant challenge for government and  public...

Updated: May 31, 2021 Notice to the Public To protect our employees’ health and do our part to slow community transmission of the COVID-19 virus, the IPC’s offices have been physically closed since March 16, 2020. Over the past year, our staff has transitioned to working remotely. During the ...

As a precautionary measure to keep the public and all IPC staff safe during the COVID-19 outbreak, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario is closed as of Monday, March 16. A limited number of staff will provide essential services until our office reopens. We will contin...

 LifeLabs Privacy Breach December 17, 2019 Backgrounder   When were you notified of the breach? On November 1, LifeLabs notified both the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia that, through their cybe...

Statement from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia on LifeLabs Privacy Breach Commissioners investigating cyberattack affecting health care information of millions of customers TORONTO ...

On May 16, 2018, the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital received a complaint, advising that a clerk within the Physiotherapy and Mental Health Departments had accessed the personal health information of patients without authorization. The Chief Privacy Officer of the hospital conducted a th...

Notice of Resolution for PR18-00067 – Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services On December 24, 2018, the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) was notified by an individual that there had been a privacy breach involving clients of the Ontario Disability Support ...

TORONTO, ON (June 27, 2019) – In his 2018 Annual Report, Privacy and Accountability for a Digital Ontario, Brian Beamish, Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, recommends several initiatives to enhance both access to information and protection of privacy in Ontario. Among the commis...