Our goal is to contribute to building public trust in law enforcement by working with relevant partners to develop the necessary guardrails for the adoption of new technologies and community-based approaches that protect both public safety and Ontarians’ access and privacy rights.
This publication outlines the key obligations of police under privacy legislation in their use of ALPR systems. This is an update of the guidance document originally published in 2017, and provides recommendations, including best practices, on using these systems in a privacy-protective manner.
The IPC provided comments to the Ministry of the Solicitor General about a regulatory proposal relating to the publication of findings reports and directions by the Inspector General of Policing. This new role, the first of its kind in Canada, provides independent oversight of police services, police service boards and other policing organizations across the province. The IPC offers recommendations to support effective, privacy protective, transparent, and accountable oversight of policing organizations in Ontario.
The IPC opposes the repeal of Section 262 of the Community Safety and Policing Act proposed as part of Bill 157, the Enhancing Access to Justice Act. The public consultation requirements in Section 262 are crucial to maintaining transparency and accountability around the regulation-making process for critical policing matters.
This specific guidance offers practical recommendations for how Ontario police can mitigate potential privacy risks when using or contemplating using facial recognition technology to search mugshot databases. It includes key privacy, transparency, and accountability-related considerations to design, use, and govern such programs responsibly, in Ontario’s current regulatory context.
IPC comments to the board concerning its review of the Toronto Police Services’ artificial intelligence based, facial recognition mugshot database program.
The IPC provided comments to the Ministry of the Solicitor General regarding the regulatory proposals under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (CSPA) following the ministry’s request for public input. In these comments, the IPC offers high-level comments on three proposals that relate to the IPC’s mandate.
On September 11, 2023, the IPC provided a submission to the Ministry of the Solicitor General as part of the Five-Year Review of the Police Record Checks Reform Act, 2015. The submission includes eight recommendations on how the police record check regime can be improved to better balance the Ministry’s dual aims of protecting public safety, while also protecting Ontarians’ privacy and other fundamental human rights.
The IPC provided comments to the Ministry of the Solicitor General regarding the regulatory proposals under the Community Safety and Policing Act, 2019 (CSPA) following the ministry’s request for public input. In these comments, the IPC offers high-level comments on three proposals that relate to the IPC’s mandate.
The IPC shared its recommendations with Dr. Dubi Kanengisser, Senior Advisor, Strategic Analysis and Governance, Toronto Police Services Board on the Board’s draft Use of New Artificial Intelligence Technologies Policy. These recommendations were intended to strengthen the Policy and help the Board use AI in a manner that protects privacy, freedom of information, and other fundamental rights.
