News

  • Consumer Groups Speak Out on WIPO Broadcast Treaty
    - 2007-06-11 -
    CIPPIC, PIAC (the Public Interest Advocacy Centre), and the EFF have provided Canadian policy makers with a joint letter expressing concerns over the current draft of the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty. The consumer groups argue that the treaty is unnecessary for and harmful to Canada, that its scope is overbroad, that its exceptions and limitations are shockingly weak, that it creates a totally new regime for technological protection measures, and that it would harm a range of emerging broadcasting practices on the Internet. Joint Letter EFF Webpage on WIPO Broadcastng Treaty Current Draft of Proposed Treaty
    + read more
  • Government Releases Anti-Camcording Bill
    - 2007-06-01 -
    The Canadian government has introduced legislation into the House of Commons to criminalize camcording movies. The Bill's introduction caps an intense lobbying effort from Hollywood studios and US government officials that culminated in a personal meeting between California Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger and Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Although camcording Hollywood films is already against the law, (the act infringes copyright and commercial-scale piracy operations violate the Copyright Act's criminal provisions), the Bill creates new criminal consequences for the act. Bill C59, An Act to amend the Criminal Code Michael Geist, "The Power of Lobbying: How Hollywood Got A Movie Piracy Bill"
    + read more
  • Privacy Commissioner calls for stronger data protection
    - 2007-05-31 -
    In her 2006 Annual Report on the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), the federal Privacy Commissioner expressed concerns about private sector treatment of personal data, noting recent high profile data breaches. She also released the results of a survey of Canadian businesses, which suggests high rates of non-compliance with PIPEDA. OPCC news release and documents
    + read more
  • Law Foundation funds articling student for CIPPIC
    - 2007-05-18 -
    For the third year in a row, CIPPIC has been selected as one of six Ontario public interest organizations to receive funding from the Law Foundation of Ontario for an articling student. Under the LFO's Public Interest Articling Fellowship Program, the student will spend their full 10 month articling term from fall 2008 to summer 2009 at CIPPIC.
    + read more
  • CIPPIC files submission on Elections Act amendments
    - 2007-05-17 -
    In a submission filed with the Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs today on Bill C-31, CIPPIC objects to the expansion of personal information used for secondary purposes without the consent of electors. Currently, Elections Canada is required to share names and addresses from the National Register of Electors with political parties for fundraising and other campaign purposes. Bill C-31 would add date of birth to the lists of electors shared for these purposes. UPDATE (June 27, 2007): Sharing of date of birth was removed from the bill before it was passed by the House of Commons. PrivComm News Release
    + read more
  • CIPPIC testifies before Parliamentary Committee on ID Theft
    - 2007-05-15 -
    CIPPIC testified today before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics ("ETHI" Committee) on Identity Theft. CIPPIC's submission calls for a coordinated national strategy involving all stakeholders, which strategy should include amending PIPEDA to create meaningful incentives for compliance, mandating the FCAC to undertake a national public awareness campaign focused on common ID theft scams, establishing a national ID theft victim assistance bureau, and providing consumers with rights that improve their ability to detect, prevent, and mitigate the effects of ID theft.
    + read more
  • ETHI Committee undertakes study of ID Theft
    - 2007-05-14 -
    The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics ("ETHI committee") has launched a study into the types of and trends in identity theft, measures to increase consumer protection and to reduce and eliminate identity theft, and measures to increase public awareness of and provide better education with respect to identity theft. This study is being conducted in light of an expected White Paper from Justice Canada focusing on the criminal justice aspects of identity theft.
    + read more
  • Parliamentary Committee releases Report on PIPEDA
    - 2007-05-03 -
    The House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics released its report on the federal private sector data protection legislation yesterday. The report contains numerous recommendations for amendments to PIPEDA, including a data breach notification requirement. However, the Committee recommended against giving the Privacy Commissioner order-making powers.
    + read more
  • Private Member's Bill would outlaw offensive material on the Internet
    - 2007-04-24 -
    Bill C-427, the "Clean Internet Act", was introduced in Parliament last week. The Bill seeks to prevent the use of the Internet to distribute child pornography as well as material that advocates, promotes or incites racial hatred or violence against women. It would make it an offence for individuals to place such materials on the Internet, or to possess such materials found on the Internet. It would establish a CRTC-based licensing system for ISPs, and would make it an offence for ISPs to permit the use of their services for any of these purposes, or to allow people known to have committed such offences to use its services.
    + read more
  • Open Medicine Opens Doors
    - 2007-04-20 -
    Canada has a new medical journal based on the open publishing model. Open Medicine, a paperless medical journal, available without charge or any other barrier to access online, published its first issue this week. The journal contains peer-reviewed science and analysis as well as clinical articles. Intellectual property rights to published content will remain with the authors, not the journal. the Journal is a not-for-profit undertaking, and will not take money from pharmaceutical companies. The online journal will also include a blog. Open Medicine Website
    + read more
More news items...