Canada: Privacy Protection

A personal health number can only legally be collected by certain organizations for certain purposes. Organizations now risk the over collection of personal information, which creates privacy management risks for employers who regularly collect employee identification information as part of their operations.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly referred to as drones, are increasingly used in Canada for commercial purposes such as infrastructure inspection, real estate photography, agriculture, filmmaking, mapping and resource exploration. Their advantages are clear: they are flexible, relatively inexpensive and capable of collecting information from angles and locations that would otherwise be difficult to access.

Taylor Swift's recent trademark filings with the USPTO may represent a groundbreaking strategy to protect her voice and likeness from artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and unauthorized digital replicas. Could this approach become a template for other public figures seeking to combat AI misuse through intellectual property law? The entertainment industry is no longer waiting for legislatures to catch up with rapid advances in AI technology.

Ontario and Alberta have launched regulated iGaming markets built on hybrid public-private privacy frameworks that blend private-sector principles with government control structures. Operators must navigate complex data governance requirements, including public-sector access obligations, AI deployment constraints, and cross-border processing approvals that go far beyond traditional commercial privacy compliance.

Canada's proposed federal privacy reform would integrate privacy oversight into a broader online harms prevention mandate through a new Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission. This consolidated regulator would wield expanded enforcement powers, including binding orders and substantial fines, while overseeing both privacy protection and digital safety legislation.

Canada's privacy landscape is evolving rapidly with Bill C-36 and new cybersecurity legislation. This comprehensive guide examines practical steps organizations should take...

Canada's federal government has introduced Bill C-36, proposing to replace PIPEDA with the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act and establish a new Digital Safety and Data Protection Commission. The legislation introduces significant penalties up to $25 million or 5% of global revenue, mandatory privacy impact assessments for cross-border transfers, and new provisions governing automated decision-making systems. Organizations face heightened compliance obligations including documented privacy management

The Federal government has introduced a bill containing the Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act (PPCDA), a proposed federal private sector privacy statute that would replace the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Osler's national Privacy and Data Management team provides initial overview and commentary on this significant legislative development.

Osler’s national Privacy and Data Management team offers insights into major Canadian privacy legislative reform in The Protecting Privacy and Consumer Data Act (Bill C-36): key obligations and enforcement overview.