News release: Privacy Commissioner of Canada welcomes efforts to modernize Privacy Act in submission to government consultation

Privacy Commissioner of Canada welcomes efforts to modernize Privacy Act in submission to government consultation

Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne has provided his submission to the President of the Treasury Board of Canada, the Honourable Shafqat Ali, on the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) consultation on Privacy Act modernization.

In his submission, Commissioner Dufresne expresses his support for the government’s efforts to prioritize the modernization of Canada’s federal public sector privacy law and indicated his support of many of the measures that are being proposed, including the recognition of privacy as a fundamental right and the inclusion of modern privacy principles to update the federal public sector privacy law.

He welcomed proposals to make safeguards and the management, notification, and reporting of privacy breaches a legal obligation under the law and described enhanced transparency requirements for automated decision systems as a positive step.

Commissioner Dufresne also proposed several additional measures to further improve privacy protections for Canadians. These include strengthening the enforcement mechanisms, introducing a legislative requirement to conduct privacy impact assessments for high-risk activities, greater authority to collaborate with other oversight bodies, and an expanded mandate for privacy research and public education which are essential to support Canadians and Canadian institutions in safely implementing and leveraging the benefits of modern technologies.