Backgrounder
2006-2007 Contributions Program

Following is a brief description of funded projects:

Organization: Canadian Association for Professional Access and Privacy Administrators and the Canadian Access and Privacy Association
Location: Edmonton, AB and Ottawa, ON
Funding Amount: $50,000
Project: Professional Certifications Standards Project

The Canadian Association for Professional Access and Privacy Administrators (CAPAPA) and the Canadian Access and Privacy Association (CAPA) will evaluate the wide range of options and issues that must be considered in order to develop and implement a process for certifying privacy professionals.

The ultimate objective is to develop and establish a certification process.

Organization: Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic
Location: Ottawa, ON
Funding Amount: $50,000
Project: Digital Rights Management Technologies and Consumer Privacy: A Canadian Market Survey and Privacy Impact Assessment

Under this project, the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) will assess the use of content control technologies in the Canadian marketplace, and the implications of the use of such technologies on the privacy rights of Canadians. They will examine the digital rights management’s (DRM) compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s private sector privacy law.

Organization: University of Toronto
Location: Toronto, ON
Funding Amount: $50,000
Project: Visions for Canada: Identity Policy Projections and Policy Alternatives

The University of Toronto researchers will investigate a number of identity initiatives that will have an impact on policy in Canada, from the current Smart Border Agreement, to plans for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative and Passport Canada’s launch of an e-passport. The project will attempt to reconcile the need to achieve the goals of those pushing for these identity reforms with the need to minimize harm to citizens, by applying data protection principles. 

Children and teens are participating online in ever-increasing numbers, many times without direct parental supervision. This project examines the privacy policies encountered by Canadian children and youth on the sites they frequent.

The overall aim of this project will be to identify a set of principles that can be used to draft consumer-friendly privacy policies that promote the best possible understanding of the privacy decisions Canadian children and teens are making when they surf the Internet.

Organization: Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario
Location: Ottawa, ON
Funding Amount: $45,000
Project: The Development of Pan-Canadian De-Identification Guidelines for Personal Health Information

De-identifying personal information on health records can help doctors and health researchers exchange personal information about people without compromising their privacy. Proper de-identification requires that identifying variables and quasi identifiers that can be used for identification through record linkage should be removed.

The purpose of this research project to be undertaken by the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario is to measure the risk of re-identification after information has been de-identified, and to produce de-identification guidelines, with a web support tool that enables the de-identification of data sets.

Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Location: St. John’s NFLD
Funding Amount: $44,850
Project: Technology Choices and Privacy Policy in Health Care

The purpose of this project by Memorial University is to examine and report on the influence of technology choices on policy development, as well as the influence of policy choices on technology development with respect to privacy in the health care sector.

This three-phased project will first involve conducting a survey of privacy related technologies relevant to the health care sector. The next phase will involve examining the legislative and regulatory regime to determine technology models or assumptions that are inherent in existing regulatory structures. The final step will be to examine the deployment of privacy technologies in the health care information sector.

Organization: Automobile Consumer Coalition
Location: Toronto, ON
Funding Amount: $30,900
Project: Vehicle Technology and Consumer Privacy

This project by the Automobile Consumer Coalition will examine the major issues related to personal privacy raised by the rapidly evolving technologies found in modern vehicles.

Research will include an examination of peer reviewed journals, technical publications, and the general media; on-site visits to locations where the relevant technology is installed or operating; and interviews with privacy experts or representatives from the law enforcement, legal and business communities.  

Organization: Centre for Bioethics, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal
Location: Montréal, QC
Funding Amount: $24,200
Project: The Secondary Uses of Health Information and Electronic Medical Records: Current Debates, Policies, Initiatives and Legislation in Canada and Abroad

The goal of this project by the Centre for Bioethics at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal is to inventory the challenges to privacy posed by electronic health records. The analysis will be done from the perspective of secondary uses of this personal information, and how these uses can have an impact on privacy protection. The project will cover policies, initiatives and laws in Canada and abroad.

Organization: L’Union des consommateurs
Location: Montréal, QC
Funding Amount: $22,000
Project: Do Consumers Benefit From the Trading of Personal Information?

Consumers frequently encounter clauses that grant businesses the right to use their personal information for their commercial purposes. This study by L’Union des consommateurs will examine if consumers benefit from the collection of their information, and it will also examine if privacy laws adequately protect the consumer. 

Organization: University of Ottawa
Location: Ottawa, ON
Funding Amount: $11,960
Project:  Privacy Within the Criminal Justice System: DNA Investigation

This project by the University of Ottawa will explore the handling of DNA samples from the time they are collected in the course of an investigation, to their use in judicial proceedings. The study will also attempt to document the principal issues surrounding the control of DNA samples collected in the course of an investigation.

These researchers were funded through last year’s Contributions Program to examine the social uses of DNA samples and its repercussions in the criminal justice system.

Organization: Ryerson University
Location: Toronto, ON
Funding Amount: $10,350
Project: Under the Radar? The Employer Perspective on Workplace Privacy

Ryerson University will disseminate the results of a report on workplace privacy funded through the OPC’s Contributions Program last year. This will include a one-day workshop hosted by Ryerson University in the fall of 2006 to discuss the results of the project and a framework for workplace privacy to appeal to all Canadians.

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For more information, please contact:

Valerie Georgewill
Media Relations
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Tel: (613) 992-3745
E-mail: vgeorgewill@privcom.gc.ca
www.privcom.gc.ca