This week, provincial Privacy Commissioners from Alberta, B.C., and Quebec commented before the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology on Bill C-27, the Digital Charter Implementation Act.
The provincial Privacy Commissioners said that the proposed Bill shouldn’t add an appointed privacy tribunal for businesses to appeal certain decisions (e.g., an imposed fine) made by the national Privacy Commissioner. They instead argued that any objections or appeals should go straight to a court as is currently the process federally and in the three provinces that have their own privacy laws – that is, B.C., Alberta, and Quebec. The Privacy Commissioners said that the Tribunal could instead “strip away power from the federal Privacy Commissioner to levy fines and instead put it in the hands of a third party (the tribunal) that would not be in a position to coordinate matters with other authorities” like provincial regulators.
This opposition to the tribunal has also been echoed by the current Privacy Commissioner, Philippe Dufresne, and his predecessor, Daniel Therien.
Alberta’s Privacy Commissioner, Diane McLeod, also expressed her concern on the proposed exemption for businesses from getting consent for personal data collection in two proposed conditions: where a reasonable person would expect the collection or use of personal data for an activity; and the personal information is not collected or used to influence an individual’s behaviour or decisions.
Bill C-27 was first tabled in June 2022 and was referred to committee in April 2023. Committee hearings on Bill C-27 will continue in January.
A brief on the proposed legislation prepared by CCUA can be found below:
If you have any questions, please contact Sabena Sandhu.