Privacy Commissioner's Message
The role of Privacy Commissioner of Canada, which I assumed
on December 1, 2003, is a position of great responsibility
which requires the trust of both Parliament and the Canadian
people. For the immediate future, I have identified the
following priorities for my work:
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Leading institutional renewal
The audits of the Auditor General and the Public
Service Commission identified a number of serious
organizational problems in this Office. I intend to
lead the Office's institutional renewal by
strengthening management processes, most notably
related to human resources, planning, budgeting and
reporting. These plans will follow those established by
Robert Marleau, the Interim Commissioner.
-
Helping organizations implement Canada's new
private sector privacy law
On January 1, 2004, the Personal Information
Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
comes fully into force. I intend to help organizations
with the implementation of the last phase of PIPEDA, to help them understand their
obligations, and citizens their rights, under this new
law. This involves working out shared responsibilities
with provinces that may already have, or will adopt,
their own privacy legislation.
-
Tracking government activities and
proposals
Government activities and proposals to facilitate the
delivery of services to Canadians - such as the growth
of databanks or Government On-Line - continue to raise
important privacy issues. Meanwhile, issues related to
the border and international security raise new
challenges for the privacy rights of Canadians. I
intend to monitor these government initiatives to
ensure that they take into account citizens'
privacy rights.
-
Researching trends
New technological advances aimed at making our lives
more convenient - such as Web phone cameras, black
boxes in cars, genetic testing - are being introduced
at a staggering rate. I intend to develop this
Office's research capabilities to monitor these
trends and to help Canadians understand the potential
privacy encroachments of these new technologies, which
must be weighed against the potential benefits they
offer.
-
Monitoring compliance
In the federal jurisdiction, citizens' rights are
protected by two privacy laws - one covering the
federal public sector and the other, which is fully in
force, covering the entire private sector, except in
provinces which have substantially similar legislation.
This Office will continue to investigate complaints
from citizens into potential privacy violations and to
work with organizations to improve their personal
information-handling practices.
I look forward to the challenges ahead and to working with
the dedicated staff of this Office and with Parliament as we
endeavour to defend and protect the privacy rights of
Canadians, in 2004 and in the coming years.
Jennifer Stoddart
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Biography of Jennifer Stoddart
Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Jennifer Stoddart was appointed Canada's Privacy Commissioner by the Governor in Council, effective December 1, 2003, on unanimous resolutions adopted by both the House of Commons and the Senate, for a seven-year term. Since her arrival, she has led the Office's institutional renewal, and has also reoriented it toward its multi-disciplinary approach to preventing privacy breaches in the public and private sectors, and to protecting and promoting the privacy rights of Canadians.
Ms. Stoddart was previously President of the Commission d'accès à l'information du Québec, an organization responsible for both access to information and the protection of personal information. She has held several senior positions in public administration for the Governments of Québec and Canada, including at the Canadian and the Quebec Human Rights Commissions. Ms. Stoddart has been active in the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice, and has also lectured on history and legal sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal and McGill University.
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