Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) releases 2021-2025 strategic priorities
TORONTO, ON (April 22, 2021) — The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has selected the strategic priorities that will guide its efforts now and into the future.
The selected priorities focus on promoting and protecting Ontarians’ access and privacy rights in an increasingly data-driven world as organizations accelerate their use of new digital tools and artificial intelligence technologies.
These strategic priorities and related goals will assist the IPC in directing its energies and allocating its resources in key areas where it is likely to have most significant and positive impact for the benefit of Ontarians.
The IPC’s strategic priorities and related goals are:
| Privacy and Transparency in a Modern Government | Advance Ontarians’ privacy and access rights by working with public institutions to develop bedrock principles and comprehensive governance frameworks for the responsible and accountable deployment of digital technologies.
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| Children and Youth in a Digital World | Champion the access and privacy rights of Ontario’s children and youth by promoting their digital literacy and the expansion of their digital rights, while holding public institutions accountable for protecting the children and youth they serve.
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| Next-Generation Law Enforcement | Contribute to building public trust in law enforcement by working with relevant partners to develop the necessary guardrails for the adoption of new technologies that protect both public safety and Ontarians’ access and privacy rights.
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| Trust in Digital Health | Promote confidence in the digital health care system by guiding custodians to respect the privacy and access rights of Ontarians, and supporting the pioneering use of personal health information for research and analytics to the extent it serves the public good.
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“These strategic priorities and related goals will help us enhance our effectiveness and provide greatest value to the people of Ontario. They represent a bold and exciting vision which we look forward to implementing in collaboration with many others as we move from strategic priorities to strategic outcomes,” said Patricia Kosseim, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. “I want to thank the engaged citizens, stakeholders, and members of our strategic advisory committee, who participated in our public consultation process, providing very thoughtful and insightful feedback on the development of these priorities.”
As next steps, the IPC will consult with relevant stakeholders in developing short and long-term action plans to advance each strategic priority, along with key performance indicators to track and monitor success towards achieving its goals.
The IPC has already begun advancing these strategic priorities with its recently issued guidance on privacy and security considerations in virtual healthcare visits and its soon-to-be released model governance framework for the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement.
Recent IPC activities in the priority areas
- Recommending safeguards for the use of the COVID Alert contact tracing app in Ontario
- Co-sponsoring Global Privacy Assembly resolution on artificial intelligence systems
- Providing guidance on the delivery of secure virtual health care visits
- Raising awareness among children and youth of their access and privacy rights under Ontario’s child and family services law
- Consulting with police services to ensure strong governance frameworks are in place for the use of body-worn cameras
- Recommending limits, transparency, and accountability measures for personal health information collected using the Ontario health data platform
Additional resources
- IPC Strategic Priorities 2021-2025 Report
- Backgrounder: Public consultation on IPC strategic priorities
- Backgrounder: Protecting the access and privacy rights of Ontarians
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