News

  • OpenMedia.ca Releases Report Establishing Need for Openness as Guiding Principle of Digital Policy
    - 2011-05-27 -

    OpenMedia.ca released "Casting an Open Net: A Leading Edge Approach to Canada's Digital Future", a report demonstrating the need for a comprehensive digital policy that has openness as its guiding principle. The report lays out a factual and policy basis for the need for Openness, as well as an action plan that lays out clear steps that will allow Canada to regain its digital leadership role by providing Canadians with an open, affordable Internet.

    CIPPIC contributed a chapter to the report

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  • Privacy Commissioner Releases Report on Challenges Posed by New Technologies
    - 2011-05-10 -

    The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has released a report exploring many of the challenges posed by emerging technologies and business practices to protection of privacy in an interconnected world. The report is a result of a number of groundbreaking consultations held in cities across Canada which explored issues such as online and geolocational tracking,behavioural targeting,  cloud computing, and emerging risks for online privacy of children.

    Alongside its other conclusions, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada noted that people deserve to have access to the many benefits of an interconnected world, but that "this should not come at the expense of privacy rights".

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  • Computers Freedom and Privacy 2011: The Future Is Now
    - 2011-05-10 -

    Early registration is now open for CFP2011! This will be the 21st iteration of the annual conference, which explores cutting edge issues related to the intersection between computers, privacy and freedom. This year, CFP will be held in Washington D.C. and will explore the role of social media in Middle East/North Africa democratic movements, the growing impact of mobile personal computing on freedom and privacy, as well as a host of other issues including the smart grid, e-health records, net neutrality, Identity management, and growing trends towards ubiquitous surveillance.

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  • Supreme Court to Hear Appeal in Important Fair Dealing Case
    - 2011-05-05 -

    The Supreme Court of Canada today granted leave to hear the appeal in Alberta (Education) v. Access Copyright. This case will provide the Court with the opportunity to clarify the scope of the fair dealing defense in educational environments.

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  • National Groups Call on Parties to Fix Access to Information in Canada
    - 2011-04-14 -

    A number of diverse national groups: the BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, and Newspapers Canada have sent a joint letter to party leaders calling on them to fix Canada's disastrous federal access to information system. The letter responds to growing evidence that the Canadian access to information system is rapidly becoming among the worst of its kind in the developed world and cites the federal Information Commissioner's own assessment of the system: that it has hit "rock bottom".


    The letter calls on the parties to commit to fixing the ATI system by April 18, and party responses will be posted on the signatories' respective websites.

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  • US Court Rejects Proposed Settlement to Google Book Class Action
    - 2011-03-23 -

    An American court has rejected the proposed settlement to the Google Books Search class action.  The court concluded that the proposed settlement was not "fair, adequate and reasonable".

    CIPPIC acted for a group of independent Canadian authors and for the Canadian Association of Universtiy Teachers in opposing the settlement based on its inclusion of Canadian authors among the copyright owners affected by the settlement.

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  • Alberta Proposing Mandatory Police Surveillance Laws
    - 2011-02-23 -

    The Alberta Provincial legislature is proposing legislation that will obligate telecommunications service providers to provide police with a vast amount of "telephone and other electronic communications records", including: locational (GPS) data, cellular phone records, all inbound and outbound text messages, and internet browsing history. If requested by an officer claiming reasonable grounds to believe that immediate access to the records is necessary to prevent imminent harm of a missing person, the telecommunications service provider will have no option other than to provide the requested information or face potential adverse cost awards.

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  • Grace-Pepin Access to Information Award Call for Nominations
    - 2011-02-17 -

    Canada's federal, provincial and territorial Information and Privacy Commissioners are calling for nominations for the Grace-Pépin Access to Information Award, which will honour and recognize the efforts of individuals who have demonstrated an exceptional contribution to Access to Information, transparency, and accountability in Canada. The award also honours and commemorates its eponymous Commissioners, John Grace, former Information Commissioner of Canada, and Marcel Pépin, president and founder of the Commission d'accèss à l'information du Québec.

    The inaugural award will be presented during the International Conference of Information Commissioners which will be held in Ottawa on October 4-5, 2011. Future awards will be presented annually during Right to Know week.

    More details on the nomination process and requirements are available here (FR). The submission form is here (FR).

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  • Come Join CIPPIC as a Summer Intern!
    - 2011-01-28 -

    All law students, including graduate, are encouraged to apply to join us as part of our Summer Internship Program. The program offers students a unique opportunity to work with CIPPIC lawyers on cutting edge issues in law & technology. Remuneration is in the form of a C$6000 stipend.


    APPLICATION DEADLINE: February 18, 2011, 5pm EST

    More details here (FR)

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  • CIPPIC Participates in OPC Consultation Process
    - 2011-01-23 -
    CIPPIC has provided comments on a draft Privacy Commissioner document intended to address emerging privacy issues such as online tracking, identity management and cloud computing. The final report will incorporate the results of a consultation process initiated by the OPC and reflecting the views of myriad stakeholders on issues raised by emerging technologies.
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