Most of us have received a number of emails pointing us to revised terms of use and privacy/data policies, or asking us to consent. These have been driven by the GDPR, the new privacy regime in the EU.

Facebook’s starts with:

Hi David,

We’re updating our Terms, Data Policy, and Cookies Policy to make sure you know how your data is used so you can make the choices that are right for you.

(You have all taken the time to read, understand and make informed choices under these, right?)

Facebook has been under increasing scrutiny over what it . . . [more]

On May 9, 2018, the Quebec government published its criteria for reasonable accommodation under an Act to foster adherence to State religious neutrality and, in particular, to provide a framework for requests for accommodations on religious grounds in certain bodies (the Act, previously Bill 62) that requires among other things, Quebecers to leave their faces uncovered in order to provide or receive public services.

Under the Act, employees and members of public bodies and certain other bodies, as well as elected persons, must exercise their functions with their face uncovered. In addition, persons who request a service from one of . . . [more]

You will probably have heard that Google has developed a system by which a machine can make phone calls to humans, notably to make reservations for hotels and restaurants (and what more human an activity is there?) – and the machine, using AI, can sound remarkably human. Apparently we have here a device that passes the Turing test with flying colours.

Question: should it have to tell people it deals with that it is essentially a robot? A lot of people claim to be unhappy with the idea that they may deal with the machine and not know it’s . . . [more]

The federal Standing Committee on Health is recommending a single-payer, universal prescription drug plan for Canada. The recommendation came in its report Pharmacare Now: Prescription Medicine Coverage for all Canadians (in PDF), tabled in the House of Commons on April 18, 2018. . . . [more]

In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel H. Pink (Yale law graduate) discusses the importance of timing. He references the research done on Israeli judges handling parole requests. The judges were more likely to grant parole in the morning than in the afternoon. The leading explanation for this discrepancy was judicial fatigue. However, when judges took breaks, the difference in the granting of parole requests minimized. The antidote was restorative breaks.

So, what makes a restorative break?

Daniel Pink recommends the following:

1. Take micro breaks. “Short breaks from a task can prevent habituation, help us maintain focus, and

The 2017 Ontario Accessibility Compliance and Enforcement Report is now available online and outlines the activities undertaken by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario in 2017 to oversee compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act and its accessibility standards.

The report explains the results of the December 31st compliance reporting obligations of obligated organizations, and the various audits and inspections conducted by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario in 2017. Overall, the report clearly indicates that there is a lot of enforcement work still needing to be done for Ontario to reach the goal of becoming an accessible province . . . [more]

Written wholly by Christina Catenacci, BA, LLB, LLM, and PhD candidate at the University of Western Ontario

In February 2018, the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics released a report that summarized issues and recommendations concerning the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

The report was authored by Bob Zimmer, the Chair of the Standing Committee, and presented to the House of Commons in the first session of the 42nd Parliament.

More specifically, the report was generated following the decision to undertake a review of PIPEDA. This review began February 14, 2017; it consisted of . . . [more]

On February 27, 2018, the federal government tabled its 2018-19 budget, the third budget for the sitting liberal government. The 2018-19 budget focuses on gender equality, economic growth, job creation and a strong middle class.

In his budget speech, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau stated, “The Canadian economy is doing well-remarkably well. Over the last two years, hard-working Canadians have created nearly 600,000 new jobs, most of them full-time. Unemployment rates are near the lowest levels we’ve seen in over 40 years.”

The updated fiscal 2018-19 forecasted deficit is $18.1 billion, improved from the fall economic statement estimate of . . . [more]

On Friday, January 26, 2018, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) released a draft of their position regarding online reputation and on how Canadians can better protect their online privacy and rights.

The draft report is the result of a 2016 consultation on online reputations. Through this consultation, the OPC was soliciting input from interested stakeholders about new and innovative ways to protect reputational privacy. Reputation and Privacy is one of the OPC’s four strategic privacy priorities. A summary of the 28 submissions received is posted online on the OPC website.

Summarizing the report

The draft . . . [more]

January 28 is Data Privacy Day.

Privacy is becoming more challenging with new tech such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, blockchain, autonomous cars, the internet of things, drones, and government agencies recording massive amounts of data in the name of security. Basic privacy concepts such as consent as we now know it may no longer be adequate to deal with some of these challenges. And the sheer number of ways our information gets used makes it almost impossible to truly understand, let alone trust, what others are doing with our information.

The IAPP is hosting Privacy After Hours events . . . [more]

Over the winter break, I was able to catch up on many podcasts gathering cyberdust on my iPhone’s chips. With 2018 upon us, this may be a good time to review some of my favourite commuting companions and feel free to add your own recommendations in the comments below. In no particular order…

The Docket

Listening to Michael Spratt@mspratt and Emilie Taman @EmilieTaman chat about Canadian legal issues, their family and anything else that catches their attention is just like pulling up a chair into their family room. The tone is casual. The topics are timely and the banter . . . [more]

This is CanLII Connects’ 4th year end, and it’s gratifying to see the ongoing growth on the site. CanLII Connects contributors have written about 39,000 cases, that cover 150 years of Canadian caselaw from the first decision issued by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1867 to last week.

Here are the top commentaries and summaries from the last year:

‘Trinity Western: Did the Chief Justice of Canada make an illegal (or questionable) order?’ – Trinity Western University, et al. v. Law Society of Upper Canada, 2017 CanLII 8575 (SCC), by Patrick F. Baud and Maxime . . . [more]