Commissioner’s Blog | Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario

La commissaire à l'information et à la protection de la vie privée, Patricia Kosseim, pose pour une photo sur un pont, avec des arbres en arrière-plan.

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 73 - 81 of 245 results

Putting Privacy First in Reviews of Sexual Violence Cases

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...

Published on Dec 9, 2019

Report on Amnesty International Request for Investigation

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, whether...

Published on Nov 14, 2019

Order MO-3827 – A Streetcar Named Disclosure

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 provision...

Published on Oct 30, 2019

Access and Privacy Under Ontario's Child and Family Services Law

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...

Published on Oct 21, 2019

Order PO-3972 – Public institutions are not immune to accountability and transparency

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...

Published on Oct 9, 2019

Open Letter from Commissioner re: Sidewalk Labs' Proposal

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

Published on Sep 26, 2019

Cameras in Doctors’ Exam Rooms? Not in Ontario.

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...

Published on Sep 25, 2019

Order of Note – MO-3803: Accessing photographs of deceased relative from police

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...

Published on Sep 23, 2019

Managing privacy breaches in the public sector

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 information is...

Published on Sep 17, 2019

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