Commissioner’s Blog | Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

Information and Privacy Commissioner Patricia Kosseim posing for a photo on a bridge, with trees in the background.

Commissioner’s Blog

Dive into Commissioner Kosseim’s insightful blogs covering privacy, access, cyber safety, and beyond. Stay informed and explore the latest insights.

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Showing 118 - 126 of 243 results

End of Summer Commissioner’s Update

The summer of 2017 went by fast at the IPC! As we were busy conducting our normal activities, we were also preparing guidance for health care providers on the important amendments to Ontario’s health privacy law. Some of the amendments to the Personal Health Information Protection Act ( PHIPA) were...

Published on Sep 25, 2017

IPC Webinar - Records Information Management

Poor records and information management (RIM) practices can have a number of negative impacts on an institution and its staff. This can include affecting the quality of responses to freedom of information (FOI) requests, hindering transparency and accountability, and jeopardizing privacy of personal...

Published on Sep 21, 2017

Can health cards serve as proof of your identity?

Just about everyone is asked at one time or another to provide photo identification. Being asked for your health card for identification purposes has raised a few questions about when it is acceptable to ask for or show a health card for this purpose. This is especially true for individuals whose...

Published on Sep 18, 2017

Guidance document available for health information custodians on reporting health privacy breaches

Starting on October 1, 2017, it will be mandatory for anyone who deals with health information to report certain privacy breaches to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC). Designed to better protect patient privacy and improve accountability and transparency in the health care system, the...

Published on Sep 6, 2017

New IPC Fact Sheet: Frivolous and Vexatious Requests

The IPC is often asked how institutions should handle FOI requests that they deem to be frivolous and vexatious. Ontario’s access and privacy laws give individuals the right to access their own personal information and government-held records unless an exemption applies, or the request is found to...

Published on Aug 23, 2017

Access and Privacy in Private Sector Businesses

Recently we’ve received several questions about accessing information from a business, and other issues concerning privacy in the private sector in Ontario. Because Ontario doesn’t have its own private-sector privacy law, the personal information-handling practices of businesses in this province are...

Published on Jul 21, 2017

2016 Annual Report: Facing Challenges Together

Today we released our 2016 Annual Report, Facing Challenges Together, in which Commissioner Brian Beamish calls on the government to modernize Ontario’s access and privacy laws to better protect Ontarians’ rights, especially in the era of big data. In his report, the Commissioner makes seven...

Published on Jun 19, 2017

IPC partners with federal privacy office to review online educational services

The IPC is pleased to announce our collaboration with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) in a joint research effort to evaluate online educational services. This collaborative effort is part of a larger, annual “Privacy Sweep” (Sweep) initiative being carried out this week by...

Published on May 24, 2017

New Big Data Guidelines

Big data is increasingly used by government institutions to shape and improve policies, programs and services affecting the public they serve. While big data may benefit individuals, it also raises a number of privacy, fairness and ethical concerns about how institutions use it to process personal...

Published on May 17, 2017

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